A Shepherd's Rest
by NumberCDLI
Summary: A man with no background in Remnant opens up a coffee shop in Vale.
1. A Fateful Encounter

... **So…yeeaaahhh…this happened. Uhh…enjoy?**

 **. . .**

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

"Ruby! Ruby, where'd you go?!"

Yang slowed to a stop as she placed her hands on her knees with labored breaths. Not even five minutes into the team's impromptu trip into Vale and her sister vanishes like the hyper-energetic child she is. Evident from the scattered rose petals that gently floated to the ground, it was obvious that she used her Semblance, and due to that, Yang knew that she wouldn't be able to catch up to her sister.

"Damn it, Ruby," Yang groaned, wiping away the sweat that threatened to roll down her cheek.

She checked her scroll in hopes that one of her teammates caught up with her, but there weren't any new notifications on her screen. Letting out a tired sigh, she sent Ruby another message before pocketing it and jogging down the near-empty street once more.

It wasn't exactly strange for one of Vale's streets to be scarce with people, especially at this hour. In fact, roughly sixty percent of Vale was far less traveled than the main streets. Most of Vale's population ventured around the main streets that were near the center of Vale, and Yang was a few streets south from said populated area. Not that it was shady or anything. It looked just like the main streets and almost felt like it too. The only thing it lacked were the bright signs of stores and the crowds that seemed to breathe down your neck wherever you walked.

When she was nearing the end of her current block, she heard a loud crash from around the corner alongside a yelp. She quickly turned a corner just in time to see a hooded man in a black cloak vanish beneath a stack of crates.

"Oh no," Yang gasped and sprinted over to the fallen pile of crates. Before she could even lift one of the boxes to check if the man was okay, she heard a slightly irritated sigh escape his mouth.

"Fuuuu- " A few of the crates moved as the man pushed them aside. "Gods damned son of a motherf… I just pulled a Morgan, only this wasn't Tomestackers."

He froze the moment he noticed Yang. For what seemed like an eternity, the two stared at one another. Yang couldn't see much beneath his hood, only his chin and mouth. His eyes were covered, but Yang got the strange feeling that he could see her just fine. The hood made him look a little suspicious, not unlike a criminal, but if the man was a criminal, and the crates contained illegal items, the man was doing a very poor job at being a criminal.

"Hello there," the man suddenly said. "How are you doing on this fine day?"

"I'm doing alright. Could be better if it wasn't for my sister running around like a - wait, no!" Yang exasperatedly shook her head. The man's nonchalant greeting threw her for a loop, making her forget that a pile of heavy crates fell on the man just seconds prior. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

The man laughed. It was gentle and warm, reminding Yang of her father. And Summer.

"I'm quite alright, thank you for asking," the man smiled. "I've had worse things happen than a stack of crates fall on top of me."

As if to prove his point, the man easily pushed off two crates that were on his legs and pushed himself to his feet. Dusting himself off, he stared at the pile of crates for a few seconds before sighing. It wasn't a sigh out of annoyance nor was it one of anger. Yang heard those two types of sighs more than enough times in her life. The one that the man just let out was more the sigh that her father would make when Zwei did something that was…Zwei-like. Sort of like a _'Not this again'_ sigh.

And then it just occurred to her that the man was most likely moving these crates to and from some place.

"Do you…uhh…" Yang gestured at the pile with her hand. "Need some help with all that?"

The man paused for a fraction of a second before smiling again. The man seemed to like smiling. Yang made it a habit to not trust people who smiled too much. More often than not, those smiles would be fake, plastered on just to sway their victims over to their side, or to make them do what they want. But this man was different. Yang couldn't really place it, but his smiles felt…genuine. Then again, she couldn't see his eyes, and it was the eyes that would make or break a smile.

"While appreciated, don't you have a sister to find?" the man inquired.

Yang almost facepalmed. How could she have forgotten about Ruby? Yang knew that her sister could handle herself. A normal civilian couldn't hold a candle to a huntsman, even if Ruby was in training, but she was still her sister. And Yang made a promise to herself to never let Ruby get hurt.

Then, as if it was a stroke of good luck, her scroll vibrated in her pocket. She saw the portrait of Blake on her screen before answering.

"Blake! Did you find Ruby?!"

 _"Mhm. She was in a Dust shop. 'Guns n' Roses', I think it was called,"_ Blake replied in her usual calm tone, and Yang let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. She should've figured that Ruby would've visited a weapons shop.

 _"Sorry, Yang!"_ Ruby's voice made it through Blake's scroll, most likely from her yelling and hurting Blake's poor ears.

 _"Where are you?"_ Blake asked Yang. _"If you're close, we can go to you."_

"Yeah, I'm at…uhh…" Yang looked around for the name of the street.

"13th and Hamlet Road."

"I'm on 13th and - " Yang paused, staring at the man in front of her. She hadn't expected him to have been paying attention to her talk through her scroll. He just gave her a playful wave before stacking his crates back up.

 _"Yang?"_ There was a hint of concern in Blake's voice. _"Who was that?"_

"Just some random guy I met," Yang answered, giving the man a quick nod of thanks. "I'm on 13th and Hamlet Road."

 _"Alright. Ruby and I aren't too far away,"_ Blake said. _"I'll call Weiss and we'll meet you there."_

"See you girls soon."

Ending the call, Yang put her scroll back into her pocket.

"Hey, so my friends are coming - " Yang stopped talking when she noticed that she was speaking to the crates. And just the crates. No hooded man in sight. "What the… Where did he go?" she wondered aloud.

The chime of a bell drew her attention. The man was walking out from one of the buildings, specifically, the building that had all the crates in front of it. Without a word, the man picked up a large stack of crates before heading inside. Yang silently admired how smoothly the man moved while balancing a stack of boxes in his hands.

That is until the topmost crate hit the door frame.

"Ah…not good…" the man muttered in defeat.

Yang watched in awe how comically the stack of boxes fell apart and crashed down on the man. He made an attempt to catch them, failed, and promptly vanished underneath the pile of crates once more with a resounding thud.

"Soooo…" The man sheepishly looked up at her while lying down on the ground. "If you're still offering, I would greatly appreciate some help with these boxes."

 _ **. . .**_

Not even ten minutes later, Yang placed the last of the boxes down onto the floor.

"Whew! What's in those things?" Yang panted, fanning herself.

Yang was by no means weak. She was confident enough to say that she was one of the top students in Beacon when it came to physical strength, yet a few stacks of these crates gave her a workout. She'd be feeling it in the morning, Aura healing or not.

"Just a few things to settle in," the man said, placing his stack of crates down as if they were weightless. He then tilted his head when he saw Yang fanning herself. "Hot?"

"Well, thanks for the compliment," Yang cheekily replied. "Though, you'll have to try a bit harder than that."

"Hm. Indeed," the man lightheartedly chuckled.

He flicked his wrist before walking over to a switch on a wall. A draft suddenly flew into the room even before the man flipped the switch, and despite the only door into the building being closed, but Yang wasn't complaining. She basked in the wind, letting it cool her off.

Now that Yang wasn't lugging heavy boxes back and forth, she took the time to look around the room she was in. There were a few wooden tables and chairs evenly spaced out around the room and a few more chairs by the counter. There was an espresso machine a little further down, and behind the ebony counter was a tall shelf with a door leading further into the building.

But, other than that, there was almost nothing else. The walls were barren, the shelves were empty, and there were no decorations to be seen anywhere. Even the large blackboards that were hanging up on the wall were blank.

 _'He did say that those were for settling in,'_ Yang thought to herself, eyeing the crates.

Her scroll buzzed in her pocket. Taking it out of her pocket, she saw the goofy face of her little sister. She picked up the call with a small smile on her face.

"Hey, Rubes," Yang casually said. "Where you at?"

 _"That's what I was gonna ask you!"_ Ruby huffed. _"We're at 13th and Ham Road - "_

 _"_ Hamlet _Road, Ruby, not Ham."_

 _"I said that, Weiss,"_ Ruby quickly said, ignoring Weiss' comment from the background. _"Anyways, Yang, we're at the place you said, but don't see you. Where are you?"_

Yang looked out the window and smirked. "Look to your left, Rubes."

 _"Left? Uh_ … _I don't see - OH! I see you!"_

Yang waved through the window, perfectly visible from the street. Her sister cheerfully waved back and ran into the building while Blake and Weiss calmly walked in, with the latter shaking her head in mild annoyance.

"Yang!" Ruby tackled her sister in a hug, which Yang returned briefly before putting her into a playful headlock.

"You are in big trouble, missy!" Yang started to grind her knuckles on Ruby's skull. "What did I say about running off on your own without telling your team where you're going?"

"Ow ow ow ow! I'm sorry!" Ruby cried out as she desperately tried to escape her sister's hold.

"Why are you sorry?"

"I'm sorry that I ran off without telling any of you!"

"There we go." Yang laughed and released Ruby from the headlock. "Apology accepted, little sis."

Ruby rubbed the sore spot on her head and pouted at Yang.

"So, Yang," Blake started, her eyes wandering around the room. "What is this place?"

"It's…" Yang's mouth remained open as she realized that she didn't have an answer. "It's a place!" she finally said.

Weiss rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "We know that. What Blake meant was - "

The heiress suddenly tensed and sharply turned around. The sudden action caused Blake's foot to shuffle back half a step and for Ruby to look in the direction that Weiss was looking. A second later, the door from behind the counter opened and the hooded man walked out. He paused for a fraction of a second when he noticed the three new people in the room and the continued walking.

"I take it these are your friends?" the man asked.

"Who are you?" Weiss asked, her voice full of suspicion.

Yang, taking note of her tone, quickly intervened. "Easy, Weissy."

Weiss glanced over at Yang before looking back at the man. "You know him?"

"Yes - well, no, not really?" Yang scratched her head before pointing at the pile of crates by the wall. "I helped him out bring these inside?"

Their attention was drawn to the man when he went, "Ah," as if he remembered something. "Come to think of it, I never introduced myself to you, did I? Terribly sorry," the man apologized.

"Well, he has _some_ manners, at least," Weiss huffed, crossing her arms.

The man reached up and pulled down his hood, revealing a bed of disheveled, snow colored hair that was slightly raised on one side. His face wasn't that bad to look at either, at least to Yang. Not exactly on the level of fashion models, but not exactly average either. He was somewhere in between. He wasn't that much older than them either, probably somewhere in his early twenties. He could pass off as a third or fourth year at Beacon, maybe even a recent alumnus.

"There isn't much right now, but welcome to my cafe. Well, a not-yet-open cafe. You may call me Robin," he said, giving the girls an elegant bow so graceful that he could give Weiss a run for her lien. Straightening his back, he smiled at them, a smile that also reached his hazel eyes. "May I get the honor of your names?"

Yang waved her hand at Robin. "Yang. Yang Xiao Long. The little one there is my baby sis, Ruby Rose."

Robin looked over at Ruby. "Is she the one that you were looking for earlier?"

"That's right," Yang nodded and then pointed over at Blake. "The one in the back is Blake, my partner, while she's - "

"I can introduce myself, thank you very much," Weiss interrupted. Proudly walking over to Robin, she held out her hand. "Weiss Schnee, heiress to the Schnee Dust Company, which so happens to be the largest producers of the highest quality of Dust in Remnant."

"A Schnee?" Robin raised an eyebrow as he politely shook Weiss' hand. "A bit of a surprise, but a pleasant one nonetheless. My apologies for the lack of decor, Miss Schnee, for I've only just recently arrived in Vale with my personal effects."

"Oh please, _please_ don't inflate her ego," Yang moaned. "It's big enough already, and I don't know if I can handle any more…Weissness."

Although Ruby and Blake didn't say anything, their faces were in line with Yang's, much to Weiss' vexation. Her cheeks flushed from Yang's statement and Robin's warm laughter filled the room.

"I believe I have yet to thank you for your help, Miss Xiao Long," Robin pointed out, walking behind the counter.

"It's fine. It was only right to help out," Yang said.

"Please, you've helped me when I offered nothing in return," Robin insisted. "However, now that we're inside here, I _can_ offer you something."

"And what could you possibly offer now that you couldn't before?" Weiss glared, making her distrust very obvious.

"I did say that this was a cafe, did I not? One that is yet to be open?" Robin recalled. "As thanks, I can give you a drink on the house, Miss Xiao Long. Same for your team. It would not do for one to give an offer that cannot be extended to friends."

The four of them shared glances at one another. Weiss shook her head and Ruby's head was bouncing up and down. Blake merely shrugged, but Yang caught the subtle gleam in her eyes that told her that she was interested.

"Alright, I'll take you up on that offer," Yang grinned. "What do you have?"

Robin pulled out four menus from underneath the counter and handed one to each of the girls. While three of them looked over the overly simplistic menus in earnest, one frowned and scrunched her nose.

"Is something wrong?" Robin asked Ruby, who quickly looked up at him.

"A-Ah, no! Nothing's wrong, it's just…" Ruby sheepishly scratched her cheek as she looked away.

"Ruby doesn't like coffee." Yang came to her rescue and ruffled Ruby's hair.

"Understandable." Robin nodded as he put a finger up to his chin. "Sweet tooth?"

"That'd be an understatement," Blake said with the smallest of smiles on her face.

Ruby looked down at her feet with a flushed face. "Sorry."

"It's quite alright. There's much more to a cafe than just coffee," Robin gently said. "There are cafe menu items that contain coffee but without the strong taste of coffee that some dislike."

At this, the young girl's face brightened instantly. "Really?"

"I have no reason to lie. I'll make you something that I'm sure you'll enjoy."

"Oooh, confident, aren't you?" Yang slyly said. "I'll have a mocha then."

Nodding, Robin looked at Weiss and Blake. "Anything for the two of you?"

"Just tea, thank you," Blake simply said.

"I'll have a cappuccino, more dry than wet, with two teaspoons of sugar and sprinkled with cinnamon," Weiss quickly ordered.

Yang and Ruby looked at Weiss with perplexed stares, who simply straightened her back in what seemed to be a show of challenge. Robin, on the other hand, smiled once more.

"Understood. I'll be back with your drinks shortly. In the meantime, feel free to sit down anywhere in the store."

As Robin walked off, the girls sat down at a rectangular table by the window. The second they sat down, Yang threw Weiss a dirty look but didn't say anything. Time awkwardly trickled along as the team sat in uncomfortable silence, which was eventually broken by Yang.

"Alright, Ice Queen, what was that about?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," the heiress answered indignantly. "I just happen to like my coffee a very certain way."

"That's not what I'm talking about and you know it," Yang nearly growled. "You don't like him, I get that, but you don't have to be so hostile towards him."

"I never said anything about me not liking him; I'm merely indifferent towards him," Weiss cooly countered. "Whether or not I trust him is a completely different matter. Which begs the question: why are you so agitated over this?"

Yang slammed her hands down on the table and rose out of her seat. "Because he's offering us drinks for free when his store hasn't even opened yet!"

"Which he insisted on giving us as thanks for you lending him your assistance."

"Out of kindness!"

"Relax, both of you," Blake interjected with a frown.

"Come on, you two. We're a team," Ruby pleaded. "We shouldn't fight."

Yang reluctantly sat back down and turned her gaze out the window.

"I can see where you're both coming from. Robin is offering us free drinks on the house because Yang helped him with some lifting. He didn't have to offer anything in return, yet he did," Blake said, observing Robin as he moved about behind the counter. He vanished for a brief moment as he crouched before coming back up with a tub of…ice cream? "He hasn't given us any reason to trust him, but he hasn't given us a reason to _not_ trust him either."

"...I suppose you're right," Weiss admitted, leaning her head on her hand. "I'll give him the benefit of the doubt."

"Aww, Weiss! I knew you had it in you!" Ruby beamed, causing a bit of red to form on Weiss' cheeks.

"For now," Weiss added quickly. "I have high standards for my coffee, and very few people have been able to serve me something that met my expectations."

"Well, then I sure hope that I do not disappoint. I am quite confident in my skills, after all."

Robin was standing in front of their table, causing all four of them to jump in their seats. None of them heard him walk over, nor did they see him walk over. His arm was slightly raised, balancing a tray with four cups on top, each one having a small plate underneath. He reached up with his free hand and grabbed one of the drinks.

"For Miss Blake, a cup of my personal blend, jasmine and rosemary," Robin said as he gently placed the cup in front of Blake. "Miss Xiao Long, your mocha…" Another cup was set down onto the table, followed by a third. "…a cappuccino, slightly more on the dry side, two teaspoons of sugar, and topped with cinnamon powder for Miss Schnee. And lastly, for Miss Rose…"

Looks of utter confusion rippled across the table when Robin set down the last drink. Only, it wasn't a drink. It didn't even look like anything related to coffee at all. The only thing in Ruby's cup was…

"A bowl of ice cream?" Yang frowned.

" _Vanilla_ ice cream," Robin corrected with a proud look on his face. "Complete with a cookie straw."

And that it was. A ball of vanilla ice cream sat in the very center of Ruby's mug, which was more of a bowl than a mug. Needless to say, every member of Team RWBY was disappointed at the lackluster treat.

"I know I said that Ruby doesn't like coffee, but I wasn't really expecting…" Yang trailed off, not completely sure on what to say.

"A child's dessert," Weiss finished, narrowing her eyes at Robin. "Is this some sort of joke?"

"I-It's okay, Weiss. I like vanilla ice cream."

A strained smile was on Ruby's face, and Yang felt her temper rise upon seeing her sister. She had half a mind to leave the shop right now, while the other half felt like hurting Robin for making Ruby sad. No one did that to her.

"A joke?" Robin raised an eyebrow as he looked at them seriously. "Of course not. I said that I would make something that Miss Rose would enjoy, and I fully intend to keep my word."

He then pulled out a small cup from behind the bowl of ice cream, something that Yang hadn't even noticed. Judging from the looks of the faces of her team, neither did they. With their curiosity piqued, they watched as Robin slowly poured the contents of the tiny cup over Ruby's bowl. A steaming, dark brown liquid freely flowed down onto the ice cream, causing the ice cream to melt wherever the liquid touched.

"Pouring espresso over a bowl of ice cream?" Weiss scoffed and crossed her arms. "That hardly seems like…anything…special…"

Her voice trailed off as the top of the ice cream caved inwards, almost like a flower in reverse bloom. A smooth hole was dug out inside the ice cream itself, and at the "floor" of the ice cream was a ball of chocolate, which started melting upon contact with the espresso.

Someone gasped. Yang wasn't sure who it was. Maybe it was her, maybe it wasn't. Whoever it was, she didn't care as she and the others mesmerizingly watched a mixture of chocolate, vanilla ice cream, and espresso pool together within the frozen dessert.

"I present to you…" Robin flourished his hand over the bowl. A small ball of ice cream suddenly appeared out of nowhere and plopped down onto the very center of the pool of melted chocolate and vanilla. "…the Sweets Thief."

"Wooaahhh…" Ruby's mouth was a perfect circle. She only blinked when Robin placed a spoon in the bowl with a small _clink_.

"The best plans are the simplest plans. However, plans that have a twist to them are the most fun," Robin said with a smile. "Enjoy."

Ruby didn't need to be told twice. In a flash, she picked up the spoon, scooped out a large helping of ice cream dipped in the molten liquid, and half of the utensil disappeared in her mouth. Her eyes widened immediately, and she swiftly took in another spoon. Saying that she liked it would've been a severe understatement.

For a fraction of a second, there was a flicker of pain in Robin's eyes as he saw Ruby practically melt from pure delight, but it vanished as quickly as it appeared. So much so that if one would have missed it had they blinked, and all four members of Team RWBY were engrossed by the Sweets Thief that none of them noticed.

As Yang watched Ruby dig into her treat, a bunch of questions appeared in her head. How did he think of this? Why was it called _'Sweets Thief'_? How did he manage to carve out a hole inside the ice cream? How did he place the chocolate inside the ice cream? How did he make the small ball of ice cream appear out of thin air? Was it his Semblance? Did his Semblance have anything to do with ice cream? So many questions that included the words _'ice cream'_ , but the biggest question on her mind was…

"I prepared more Sweets Thief's - Sweets Thieves? - yeah, that sounds better - in case the three of you wanted one as well. Would you like to try them?" Robin asked as if he read their minds.

"Yes, please," they all answered before he even finished asking.

With an amused grin on his face - the man truly loved smiling - Robin glided over behind the counter. His hands started fiddling with something that they couldn't see from their angle, a few clicks and clacks were heard, and a little over a minute later, he was walking back with four more Sweets Thieves on a tray.

"I figured that Miss Rose would like a second serving, and it would seem that I was right," Robin explained, setting the tray down. Ruby's cheeks turned pink as she averted her gaze from her empty bowl. Not even the crumbs from the cookie straw remained. After placing the Sweets Thieves in front of each member of RWBY, he asked them, "Would you like me to pour the espresso over the ice cream? Or would you rather do it by yourselves?"

Their answer came when they each picked up the cup of espresso with their hands. As they dribbled their espresso onto their ice cream, Robin waved his hand and four smaller balls of ice cream appeared on top of their spoons.

Leaving them to their own devices, Robin picked up Ruby's empty bowl, placed it on his tray, and walked away. The squeals of delight and wonder filled the room as he walked behind the counter and placed the tray into a nearby sink. He leaned against the back wall as he briefly glanced over at the girls. The four of them, especially the one in red, caused memories to resurface, and he let his mind wander off.

 _ **. . .**_

 _"Robin?"_

 _Robin looked up from his papers as his wife wrapped her arms around his neck._

 _"What is it?" Robin asked, tilting his head to look into her eyes. There was the fragrant scent of roses._

 _"Have you ever thought about what you wanted to do after this is all over?" she asked._

 _"You mean after the war?" Robin inquired._

 _His wife softly hummed, "Mhmm."_

 _"Well…I haven't given it much thought, to be completely honest."_

 _"Yes, the threat of a world-destroying Fell Dragon does take priority," she laughed, gently caressing his cheek. "I suppose I was foolish for asking. You already have enough to deal with as is."_

 _"No no, it's alright. I'm actually really happy that you brought this up now," Robin said, getting out his chair. "I mean, this war is going to end sooner or later, and I'd like to think about our future as well; you, me, the children, living together without any looming threat on the horizon. It'll be really refreshing to focus on something that's not related to the war or Grima."_

 _His wife said nothing as she nuzzled her head into his chest._

 _"Although, I was thinking…"_

 _"You're always thinking," his wife joked, and Robin chuckled._

 _"Well, that is true. But, I was thinking of opening a coffee shop."_

 _"A coffee shop?"_

 _"Yeah. Nothing fancy or anything. Just a small place where people can come into relax, get a quick drink or two, and forget about their stress for a short while."_

 _"You just want to open a coffee shop because you love coffee, don't you?"_

 _Robin smiled and poked her forehead with his finger. "Guilty as charged. But, as I recall, you love coffee just as much as I do. Am I wrong?"_

 _"Maybe." She shrugged and laced her arms around his neck. "Maybe I do. Or, maybe I just love the man making it so much and the coffee is just a bonus."_

 _"You spoil me," Robin laughed before planting a loving kiss on her lips._

 _"What about a name?" she asked._

 _"A name?"_

 _Her mirthful laughter warmed Robin's heart. "A name for your shop. All shops have one, right?"_

 _"Uhh… I haven't planned that far ahead."_

 _"Then I'll take pride in the fact that I was able to think further than you, the Shepherds' Grandmaster Tactician. I don't think there's anyone else that's been able to pull off such a feat."_

 _"If it's you, then I will wholeheartedly accept my defeat. I bow down before your tactical prowess."_

 _She playfully hit him on the shoulder while laughing. "Yet you remain standing perfectly straight."_

 _"It just so happens that my knees are a little stiff, so I can't seem to bend them too well," Robin grinned. "However…" He grabbed her waist and lifted her up into the air. A shriek of surprise escaped her lips followed by a charming laugh. "…would this work as a reverse bow?"_

 _"Yes, I suppose it will do."_

 _Gracefully spinning his wife in his arms, he channeled mana through his body. He focused on the image of their shared bed on the opposite end of Ylisse Castle and released his magic. The air around the two of them folded in on itself, and Robin materialized in his room with his wife still in his arms. The moment his feet touched the floor, he threw himself backward and collapsed onto his bed with his wife in tow. The two stayed silent for a while in comfortable silence, basking themselves in each others presence. The only sound they heard was the soothing beats of their hearts._

 _"As for the name," she continued, stroking his hair. "I was thinking of…"_

 _ **. . .**_

"We'll be going now, mister! Thank you for the ice cream that wasn't ice cream!" Ruby cheerfully waved.

Robin waved back as the four girls began to leave. Their plates and cups were neatly placed on top of the counter, each one being empty.

"I'll be opening officially in two days, so feel free to visit anytime," he informed them.

"Definitely! We'll tell our friends about this place too! So expect some new faces next time!" Yang promised, giving him a thumbs up and a wink. "Expect a five-star rating on Welp too!"

Robin had absolutely no idea what Welp was. He figured it didn't matter. Instead, he turned his attention to Weiss, who looked like she had something stuck in her throat. Her facial expression reminded Robin of a certain girl with red hair fashioned into twin tails.

"You're cappuccino wasn't bad. I've had worse." Her cheeks turned rosy while Ruby and Yang's jaws hit the floor in disbelief. "As for that dessert… It was surprising but pleasant," she admitted, echoing Robin's words from earlier.

"Wooaahh… Never thought I'd see the day that Weiss praised someone, especially on coffee," Ruby muttered.

"Wh-What?! I praise people!" Weiss hurriedly exclaimed.

"Yeah, sure. I'll believe that when Zwei grows wings and starts to fly," Yang snickered.

Ignoring the bickering of her friends, Blake politely smiled at Robin. "The tea and ice cream was delicious. Thank you."

"You're very much welcome. Take care, you four."

The door closed behind RWBY as they began their way back to Beacon in joyful spirits. Without a doubt, they were already making plans on returning to Robin's shop. They got along with Team JNPR well enough, so they would be the first to know.

Had any of them decided to look back, they would've seen Robin put up his store's sign above the door. And were one to pay close attention to detail, they would've noticed that the apostrophe in the store's name was in the shape of a teardrop. To everyone in Remnant, save for the owner of the store, they would not see the significance in the teardrop in the store's name. The name of the store also happened to be something that he and all of his friends fought for.

 _"'A Shepherd's Rest.'"_

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **I've been catching up on RWBY recently. And as an avid fan of Fire Emblem, a crossover idea came into mind. One was Robin attending Beacon as either a student or a teacher, and the other was what you just read.**

 **I realized that this is my first time writing a story chapter that isn't serious at all. It's practically all fluff. Thought I'd try my hand at different genres of writing. And on that note…How fluff/not serious story write? I know not how.**

 **My plan for this is to update whenever a chapter idea comes into mind. How often will that be? I've no idea. I already have four other stories that I'm working on, one of which hasn't been updated in almost a year as of now, and my main story having not been updated in over five months. (Sorry! I'm honestly doing my best to put out the next chapter!)**

 **Who is Robin's wife? *shrugs* I already have Robin's wife in mind, and she may or may not make an appearance some time down the line. I did put in a couple hints as to who she is in this chapter, so for those of you that are curious, you're more than welcome to try and figure it out on your own. Just know that I will neither confirm nor deny your guesses.**

 **Also, so many easter eggs/references.  
\- Being just south of Vale's main street. || Southtown.  
** **\- Dust shop name _Guns n'_ Roses. || The band.  
\- 13th and Hamlet Road. || Fire Emblem: Awakening is the 13th installment in the series. | Sage's Hamlet.  
\- Morgan and Tomestackers. || Do I really need to explain this?  
\- Robin's "elegant" bow to Weiss. || FE:AA, Ch 25, beginning of chapter, Maribelle event. || Shameless self-advertisement/promotion here.  
\- Tea for Blake. || FE:AA, Ch 10, tea with Emmeryn || Shameless sellout once more.  
\- Sweets Thief. || Need I really explain?**

* * *

 **The ice cream dessert featured is basically an affogato. For those that are unfamiliar with what an affogato is, it's a scoop of ice cream (usually vanilla) with a shot of espresso poured over it.**

 **I put a twist to the affogato in this story. The scoop of ice cream is hollowed out with a chocolate placed inside. This can easily be done by cutting the ice cream in half, scooping out the inside of one half of the slice, placing a chocolate in the hole, and putting the two pieces back together. When you pour the espresso shot over the side that's hollowed out, it'll quickly melt and hit the chocolate.**

 **If you're too lazy to do all that, just put the chocolate on top of the ice cream scoop before pouring espresso. Or chocolate syrup. Same result, just not as fancy.**


	2. Of Students and Teachers

**I'm gonna be honest. I did not think that what I originally thought out as a little side project/idea would be so well received. Many thanks to all of you.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

There are many oddities in life. They're simply things that cannot be explained in any way, shape, or form. They're just strange occurrences that happen to some poor lucked individual at any random time. Or a very lucky individual, depending on the circumstance. Hence the name, oddity.

A prime example would be walking into a room and forgetting why you were there in the first place. Another would be knowing that you forgot something while being unable to remember what said thing was. A third would be waking up with a severe case of amnesia, befriending a prince and princess, fighting in wars as the head tactician of said wars against innumerable odds and winning with scarcely any casualties, fighting off and defeating a city-sized dragon that could destroy worlds, and suddenly arriving in an unknown world.

Granted, the last one was an exception, and should anyone be thrown into such a situation, they wouldn't have been able to come out of it unscathed, much less alive. Fortunately, Robin was no normal person. Sure, he had a few scars that marred his body, but that was expected of any veteran fighter.

Other than that, he was a survivor. One that faced the danger head-on, saw the death of millions, both by his hand and by the enemy's, and had countless close calls with Death. Capital 'D' Death, not the lower case. Turns out, Death was an actual being, and was someone - rather, some _thing_ Robin never wanted to meet again. One encounter was more than enough for a hundred lifetimes, even if it was on a more…not-hostile/not-here-to-take-your-life sort of encounter. It is how he got to Remnant, after all.

As a survivor of multiple wars, he earned many titles. One such was a title that he earned on the battlefield through extensive use of his magic. And not magic as in mundane parlor tricks that entertained children and the like, but _true_ magic. Spellcraft. It was a power that could call down devastating bolts of lightning from the heavens, cause geysers of molten rock and lava to erupt from the ground, and create powerful tornadoes that ripped apart the very earth. A power that could literally reshape the land itself and would bring nightmares to cartographers across the world.

And it was this very power that Robin was using to dry a small stack of plates and cups.

 _'How the mighty have fallen,'_ Robin thought to himself, allowing himself a small smile. _'I wonder how the kids would react if they saw me using Spellcraft like this. One would most likely join me - actually, scratch that. I'm pretty sure she'd line them all up and see how many she could dry with a single cast of an Arcfire or something, while the other would probably just give me a frown. Like always. From whom did that kid inherit the frowns from, I wonder? '_

The shop's door suddenly burst open, killing his train of thought.

"Hey, mister! We're back!"

"Ruby, have some consideration for the others!"

"Eh heh heh, sorry!"

"Oh relax, Weissy. There's no one in here."

"Do not call me that!"

"There _is_ someone here, Yang, and he's staring right at us."

"A-Ah…"

And indeed he was.

 _'Quite reminiscent of the kids that came from the future,'_ Robin thought to himself as he dried his hands. _'They'd get along well, should they ever meet.'_

 _ **. . .**_

"A-Ah…uhh…" Yang raised her arm and sheepishly scratched the back of her head. "H-Hello, Robin."

"Good afternoon, Miss Xiao Long, Miss Rose, Miss Schnee, and Miss Blake," Robin kindly greeted with a smile. "How are you four doing today?"

"Not bad," Blake answered for her team as she took a look around the store. "Nice design."

The interior of A Shepherd's Rest was a drastic change from how it looked before it opened. The walls were a rich purple in color with streaks of gold running diagonally through in a criss-cross pattern. The floor made of polished ebony and the tables and chairs were of the same wood.

Despite the color palette being composed of darker colors, A Shepherd's Rest did not feel unwelcoming at all. In fact, there was almost a regal yet homey feel to it.

"Blake?"

Curiously enough, there were two distinct patterns of gold on the east and western walls. One was a simple rose with seven petals while the other was more…puzzling. It was a teardrop in the center of a slightly more rounded version of the letter 'U' with three outward protrusion on the ends and bottom.

Although Blake had no idea what either of the designs were, they must hold some significance to Robin if he placed the large designs on the widest walls of the store, especially since the two symbols were etched onto his shirt's pocket.

"Blaaaake."

"Huh?"

Blake blinked as she looked around. She was the only one standing in by the doorway while the rest of her team was already seated at the same table as last time. Yang and Ruby were staring at her, with the latter's brow furrowed in concern, while Weiss was chatting up a storm with Robin about the color scheme of the room.

"Finally out of your daze. You gonna sit down anytime soon?" Yang grinned as she lightly tapped her hand on the seat next to her.

With a curt nod, Blake glided over the table. She was slightly irritated at herself for having zoned out so much that she couldn't even hear Yang and Ruby when they called her. She was a cat faunus, for Oum's sake! Her hearing should be many times better than that of a human, yet she was unable to hear the voices of her team.

"Will you four like the same thing as last time, or would you like to try something else? My menu is not the same as it was pre-opening day," Robin said as Blake sat down.

"I'll have the same thing!" Ruby chirped, her eyes shining with anticipation. "Oh! And a hot chocolate, if you have it!"

"I would not dare call A Shepherd's Rest a cafe if I didn't have hot chocolate on the menu," Robin retorted, but there was no malice in his voice. "One Sweets Thief and one hot chocolate for Miss Rose, anything else?"

"I'll have the same thing as last time," Weiss said, strumming her fingers on the tabletop.

"Same here," Yang said, raising her hand.

"May I have a menu?" Blake asked, and Robin nodded.

"Of course."

Robin pulled out a menu out of thin air, catching all of them by surprise. There was nothing in his hands a second ago. His clothes, which consisted of a dark grey button up shirt and black pants, didn't seem to have any pockets large enough to hold a menu the size of her head.

"Wooooaaah, are you a magician?" Ruby asked, her eyes wide.

Robin merely gave the girl a smile, one that neither confirmed nor denied Ruby's question, and handed the menu over to Blake. The menu felt real enough, despite its mystical origin. Unlike the previous menu from their last visit, this menu had a lot more options with a matching color scheme to the store itself; a dark background with gold print. There were the standard drinks that you could find at any cafe, such as lattes, cappuccinos, and the like, but there were also quite a few with unique names that made no sense to Blake.

 _'There's more choices for tea than I thought,'_ Blake admitted to herself, reading a few of the names. _'This one here is called Azure Duke, Golden Belle, and one called…'_ She looked up at Robin with a curious eye. "…Unseen Ghost?"

The smile on Robin's face didn't leave as he simply motioned for her to keep reading. Blake looked back down at the menu. Right below the name of each tea was a short description of the items - a flavor text of sorts.

"Unseen Ghost is a tea made of crowberries," Robin explained as Blake's eyes skimmed the text. "By itself, crowberries aren't exactly something you want to eat due to their acrid taste, but I was able to work around that and make it into something that's pleasant to the tongue."

"Oh, I'm sure you would know what's pleasant to the tongue, handsome," Yang said with a sly grin.

"I think I'll try that," Blake replied, ignoring her perverted partner and how her team leader's face turned into the color of her namesake.

"Would you like a Sweets Thief with that? Contrary to the norm, I assure you that the Sweets Thief will not overpower the taste of the tea nor any other drink that I serve, as you may have noticed from last time," Robin said, and everyone but Ruby nodded in agreement. She didn't get a drink, after all. "And with that, I will start working on your orders."

"Actually, a question, if I may." Weiss suddenly leaned forward, peering intently at Robin.

"If it is within my ability to answer, then I shall gladly comply," Robin politely said.

"It's more of a curiosity, really. Why are you working in a coffee shop?"

Robin's brow furrowed in confusion. "Beg pardon?"

"Not very nice of you, Weissy," Yang whispered into the heiress' ear. "Kind of a _cold_ question, if you ask me."

Weiss' eyes widened as she realized how thoughtless and brusque her words were, and she hastily raised her hands in a placating gesture. It was a drastic change as to how she first acted towards the shop owner during their first visit, and it was something that Blake noticed.

"I-I didn't mean it in a bad way!" Weiss hastily added. "It's just that - " She paused to take in a deep breath and collect herself, and the red on her cheeks died down a little. "As you already know, I'm the heiress to the SDC, and as such, comes the bearing of class." Her eyes darted up and down Robin's person. "You carry yourself in a way that, pardon the vanity in my words, rivals me in posture, speech, and mannerisms."

Robin closed his eyes and nodded in understanding. "And you believe me to be of a noble descent or a high-class citizen, I presume?"

"Correct. Are you to say that I am wrong?"

Another nod. "As sound as your reasonings are, I am afraid that I was not raised as a member of high class or society, nor do I have any ties with someone of such standing, barring you yourself, here in Remnant," he said.

For a moment, Blake saw a change in Robin's eyes. It was such a minute difference that it was nearly unnoticeable, but there was a deep longing and pain behind the pools of hazel. The look vanished as quickly as it appeared, reverting back to its usual charismatic and warm nature, but Blake definitely didn't imagine it.

"But you walk better than Weiss!" Ruby blurted, ignoring a huff of annoyance from the person of interest. "You even talk more Weissy than Weiss!"

"Hey!"

"And why do you always call us with our last names?" Yang also joined in. "You're always adding a "Miss" before saying our names. Why not call just us as Yang, Ruby, Blake, and Weiss?"

As much as Blake wanted to refute her team's questions, to say that she herself was not curious would be a lie.

"My my, such inquisitive souls. Curiosity killed the cat, or so the tale goes," a new voice suddenly said.

"P-Professor Ozpin!" Weiss attempted to stand up but only ended up smashing her kneecap onto the corner of the table, much to her embarrassment.

"Please, sit," Ozpin kindly smiled, and Weiss slowly sat back down, nursing her knee. "I am here on a personal trip and am currently not your headmaster."

"You know…" Robin crossed his arms and tossed the headmaster a playful smirk. "Curiosity did indeed kill the cat, but satisfaction brought it back. Most people tend to forget that part." He lightly punched Ozpin on the shoulder and the jaws of RWBY dropped instantly. "You're a headmaster and a professor. You should know better than to only teach half of the lesson, Oz."

"Of course, how could I forget," Ozpin chuckled.

"Speaking of forgetting things…" Robin put his hand out in front of him with the palm facing upwards. A second later, a cup appeared in his hand, just like how the menu did only minutes ago. "Best if I don't forget this."

Ozpin glanced over at a clock on the wall while taking the cup. "Halfway into the thirteenth hour. Right on time."

"I'm a man of my word, Ozpin," Robin grinned. "You said you'd be here at this time, I promised I'd have a fresh cup ready for you, and here we are." He then looked over at the girls and frowned upon noticing their flabbergasted expressions. "Is something troubling you four?"

"Y-Y-You just punched the headmaster!" Ruby stuttered, pointing a finger at Robin.

"Did I now?" Robin innocently looked at Ozpin. "Did I punch a headmaster? I don't think I did."

"Wha-!"

The light shaking of Ozpin's shoulders did not go unnoticed as he took a sip of his coffee. "No, I do believe you did not do anything of the sort."

"He _did_ say that he wasn't a headmaster at the moment, so I don't see any headmaster in my store right now." Robin shrugged and then pointed at the cup in the not-headmaster's hand. "That's a new blend, by the way. Aside from me, you're the only one that's tasted it. The only person in Remnant who owns the blend, or even knows of it, would be yours truly."

"I'm honored."

"As you should be," Robin laughed, clapping his hand down onto Ozpin's shoulder.

 _'Who is this man?'_ Blake's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at the two white-haired men in front of her. _'He's too casual with the headmaster to be a nobody, but I've never seen him before. A secret agent, perhaps? Couldn't be from the underground. The White Fang have connections everywhere, and I've never heard of a man with white hair outside of the Schnee family and Ozpin himself. So who in the world is he?'_

"Your companions will be arriving soon, right? Take a seat anywhere and I'll come to take their orders soon enough. In the meantime, I have orders to prepare."

With that, Robin briskly turned on his heel and walked behind the counter. A second later, Ozpin left to take a seat on the opposite side of the store, leaving the girls behind with more questions than answers.

"Ah!" Ruby suddenly leapt out of her seat. "He never gave us an answer!"

"Ruby, it is rude to point," Weiss sighed, pulling the girl back down into her seat.

"Oh, come on. You're the one that asked him that question of his upbringing in the first place," Yang countered. "He didn't even give you a straight answer! He didn't even get to me and Rubes!"

"That would be due to Professor Ozpin's arrival," Weiss calmly said.

"Speaking of Ozpin, how do they know each other?" Blake asked. "Rather, who is Robin?"

"Oh?" Yang nudged Blake's side and wagged her eyebrows. "Interested in the mystery man, are we?"

Blake shook her head. "Not in the manner you're thinking of." That didn't stop a tiny bit of heat rising to her cheeks, however.

"It's not good to lie to yourself, Blake," Yang teased. "We're your team. You can be honest with us." Her gaze moved from Blake and onto Robin, who was moving back and forth behind the counter as he prepared over half a dozen items at once. "He isn't bad to look at. Reeeeeaaal easy on the eyes."

There was a scoff from across the table. "Oh please, you say that about almost half the boys you come across at Beacon."

"And none of those were lies, Weissy," Yang cheekily grinned. "Besides, did you see his arms and chest when he crossed his arms earlier? Gotta love those slim fit shirts!"

"Yaaaannggg," Ruby groaned, her cheeks noticeably red.

Ignoring her younger sister's embarrassment, Yang leaned forward and purred, "Momma likes."

"Truly, no tact at all," Weiss added, shaking her head.

"I'm not hearing you deny it~" the blonde sang, laughing to herself.

"He is curious, I will admit," Blake said, steering the conversation back on track. "Aside from the question of who he is, his ability to create things out of things out of thin air is unique. I've never seen anyone able to do anything like that before."

"You think it's his Semblance?" Weiss asked.

Blake nodded. "If it is his Semblance, then what would it be exactly?"

"Maybe his Semblance is like…I dunno, creating things from his mind?" Ruby guessed. "Like, he thinks of something in his head, like a menu, and then _boom_ , it's in his hand!"

"Imagery projection?" Weiss laced her fingers together under her chin. "That does seem plausible. He was able to "project" the menu in Blake's hand and the ice cream from the other day."

"Oooohhh! What other things do you think he can make?!" There was an ecstatic grin on Ruby's face as bounced in her seat. "Do you think he can create weapons? Or Dust? Or even cookies?!"

"Maybe, maybe not. There must be some kind of limit on his projection abilities, if that even is his Semblance." Blade shook her head. "We've only seen him work with ice cream, a menu, and a cup of coffee. But, going by that alone, a cookie does seem like it would be within the realm of possibility."

A tray suddenly appeared in the center of their table, causing the four of them to jump from surprise. Four Sweets Thieves were placed on the tray, each one looking very inviting.

"If you are curious as to what my Semblance is, all you need to do is ask."

Robin approached the table with a smirk as he masterfully balanced a second tray on his fingers. As he placed the second tray down, Weiss decided to take him up on his offer.

"Very well. What _is_ your Semblance?"

"Miss Schnee, a huntress-in-training should know better than to ask someone about their Semblance," Robin playfully scolded, much to the girl's chagrin.

"Then why would you even - !"

"I _will_ , however, give you a hint," Robin continued, immediately stopping the girl's not-so-happy retort. "Why hand you the answer on a silver platter if you will not grow from it? By giving you a hint, you can figure it out on your lonesome and hopefully learn from it."

The tiny bell on the store's door rang as it opened. Three people stepped inside and Robin left to greet the newcomers.

"Who does he think he is, a professor?" Weiss let out an annoyed huff. "We come here as a getaway from Beacon and learning but then Robin gives us a quickie."

"Heyo," Yang grinned as she wagged her brow at the innuendo.

"YANG!"

Blake shook her head as she pinched the bridge of her nose. Leave it to her partner to always make a sexual joke whenever the opportunity presents itself. Admittedly, there was a tiny part of her that was impressed at how quick Yang's wit was, sexual or not, but that would be a truth that would never come to light.

"Wait wait wait!" Ruby pointed her finger at Robin's retreating figure. "He never gave us our hint!"

"Are you sure about that, Ruby?" Blake asked.

When the others raised a confused eyebrow at her, Blake sighed and pointed down at their tables. The drinks and Sweets Thieves were no longer on the trays. Instead, they each had their respective drinks in front of them along with a Sweets Thief.

And not once had anyone touched any of the cups or trays after Robin placed the trays onto the table.

Robin's hint didn't help them much at all.

 _ **. . .**_

"Done already? Want another, Ozpin?"

"That would be wonderful."

With a quick nod, Robin reached towards the cup of coffee that was behind the counter with his mind. He visualized his mana wrapping around the cup, bending the space between his hand and the cup, reached out, and grabbed the cup through the magically shortened distance. Once he had a firm grasp on the cup, he negated his active magic, returning the space to normal, while still keeping the cup in his hand.

To anyone else, it would've seemed like a cup of coffee magically appeared out of thin air into his hands. To Robin, however, it was the fruit of many trial and error practices on the use of Spacial attribute of Spellcraft.

"Normally, I'd say something along the lines of how too much coffee is bad for you and how one should not drink it excessively," Robin conversationally said as he placed the cup in front of Ozpin. With another flick of his wrist, he warped Ozpin's empty cup into the sink, much to the surprise of the headmaster's companions. "But, if I said that, it'd be a prime example of the pot calling the kettle black."

"Right you are," Ozpin agreed.

The two shared a short laugh while the others merely had varying degrees of confusion etched upon their faces.

"You never said you knew each other, Ozpin," Goodwitch glowered.

"You never asked," Ozpin said, taking a sip from his cup. "Truly delicious. You really should try this man's coffee," he commented.

Her eyes narrowed further from his answer. He wasn't entirely wrong in that the question of him knowing the shopkeeper never came up, but to say that it wasn't annoying would be a lie. The fact that he quickly maneuvered the topic away to his coffee in such a nonchalant manner was even more infuriating.

"You must be Professor Glydna Goodwitch," Robin said, grabbing her attention. "As you may have already deduced, my name is Robin, the owner of A Shepherd's Rest. It is a pleasure to meet a renowned huntress and professor such as yourself."

"Pleasure to meet you," Goodwitch politely replied, and Robin turned to look at the other two men seated at the table.

"Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck?"

"Yes, that would be me," Oobleck answered.

Robin reached out and grasped the professor's hand with his own, promptly shaking it. "Your progressive work in unraveling the history behind the world's truth is unparalleled, and your eye for tactics is absolutely superb."

"Ah, another soul who has an appreciation for strategy!" Oobleck exclaimed as he sprung up out of his seat to shake hands with Robin a second time. "How wonderful! I was afraid that we were of a dying race! Scarcely anyone such as we exist in the world nowadays!"

"A gentleman and a scholar!" the fourth man guffawed, clapping his palm down onto the table.

"Please, tactics was only something that I did when I had the time," Robin lightly laughed. "Professor Peter Port, I presume?"

"Just Peter, lad," the burly man chuckled. "Here, I am merely another customer, while you are the master of this fine establishment."

"As you wish, Peter," Robin smiled before a sharp glint appeared in his eyes. "I've heard tales of you killing an Elder Deathstalker with its own stinger after tearing it off with your bare hands. And now that I have seen you in person, I cannot help but think that those tales have been _watered down_."

"Oho, now _that_ is a fight worth retelling in all of its glory!" Port said, reveling in his own memories.

"If you wish, we can share a few stories over a drink sometime. Perhaps after hours. Though I may not sell alcoholic drinks in my cafe, that over there…" Robin stepped aside and motioned over to the shelf behind the counter. The entire shelf was stacked with a myriad of alcohol in various sizes and bottles. "…is not merely for show."

Oobleck righted his glasses as he sat back down. "My word… What a collection…"

"Looks like a certain crow's dream," Goodwitch quipped.

"By Oum above, is - is that…?" Port stammered, pointing at a very distinct looking maroon bottle.

"The Hearthfire of Olympus?" Robin finished, and Port nodded. "No, it is not." Port's lips turned into a frown while Robin's curled upwards into a knowing grin. "It is something better."

Eyebrows were raised, and not only the from the professors. Yang, who was listening in on the adults' conversation, quite literally fell out of her seat when she heard Robin's words. She gave them a sheepish grin as she hastily sat back down into her seat.

"Before you ask, no, you will _not_ be getting any of that, Miss Xiao Long," Robin sternly said. "If you even try to take anything off that shelf, I _will_ know."

"I wasn't going to do anything like that," Yang said, much to everyone's disbelief.

"I'm sure," Robin deadpanned and turned his attention back to the four professors. "While I'm sure you are quite curious as to how something could be better than Olympian Hearthfire, the alcohol is for another time. Right now, I am serving non-alcoholic drinks. And on that note…" Robin brought out three menus and placed them in front of the teachers that had yet to order. "What can I get for the three of you, seeing how the headmaster already has his second cup of coffee?"

"A red eye, black, no sugar for me, please," Oobleck immediately said, not even looking at the menu.

After a second of quick decision making, Port gave in his order. "Cream and three sugars for me, if you would."

"Three sugars and cream," Robin repeated with a quick nod. "Is there any specific blend that you'd like? I have every type of blend that Remnant has to offer with only two exceptions: Atlissian Roast and Brett's Morainge. Those two are quite garbage, if you'll pardon my language, and I refuse to serve such a poor excuse for coffee to my customers."

"I will take Baroness' Nine, if you have," Port answered.

"And I, the same," Oobleck added, and Robin beamed.

"An excellent choice. And for you, Professor Goodwitch? Would you like a little more time, or have you decided on what to order?"

Goodwitch's eyes seemed to dance around the right side of the menu, the side where all the teas were located. Robin had to fight back a smile when he noticed her look of confusion upon the rather unique names that he gave to his menu items. He didn't really plan on it at first, but he wanted - rather, he needed something to remember _them_ by. The only three that he wasn't able to create a name for a drink were…

"If I may ask, what is a 'Sakura no Hime'?" Goodwitch inquired. "It says here that it is matcha, but it is something that I have yet to hear of, and I am quite curious."

 _'Ah, the Lady of Chon'sin, princess of the cherry blossoms.'_

Once upon a time, the princess of Chon'sin invited Robin and his wife over to her nation. It was a specific time of the year where the cherry blossoms would paint the world a vibrant shade of pink, and it was a sight so beautiful that it would be forever ingrained in Robin's mind. That very season was when she introduced Robin to matcha tea, and so the name for the drink was derived.

As to what matcha was…

"Matcha is a variant of green tea, Professor Goodwitch," Robin explained. "Unlike most teas, it is not a full leaf brew. Put simply, it is green tea leaves that is dried and then stone-ground into a fine, green powder. That powder is what we call matcha, and it is easily dissolved in water and milk. Most find the taste to be stronger and sweeter when compared to standard green tea."

"That sounds very interesting. I'd love to try it. You said that it could be dissolved in either water or milk?"

"That is correct. Do you have any preference?"

"I'll try it with water, if you would."

"As you wish," Robin said with a slight bow. "I will return shortly with your drinks."

 _ **. . .**_

"Where did you find him, Ozpin?" The moment Robin was behind the counter, Glydna shot the headmaster her question.

"I first met Robin on the southern outskirts of Vale," Ozpin replied. "He was lying in a field under a tree, taking a nap in the middle of nowhere." He took another sip from his cup as Glydna's brow furrowed in confusion. "At first, I thought he was unconscious, but when I approached, he said something that I found to be quite curious. His words were _"There are better places to take a nap than on the ground, I know. But I find it rather comfortable."_ "

"Why would that be curious?"

"Because it was as if he was expecting someone!" Bartholomew exclaimed with a sudden realization. "Curious, indeed! Who could he have been waiting for if his response was so specific?"

"Who indeed," Ozpin nodded. "Unfortunately, that is a question in which I do not have an answer for. I never asked, he never talked of it."

"What _do_ you know about the man?" Glydna asked. "He has the front of a very polite owner of a coffee shop, but there is something else about him. Something that signals him out from the average - no, even the above average person. Something…familiar. He isn't just a nobody, so don't try and give me that."

Ozpin calmly took another sip from his cup, which was already half gone. The speed at which the man consumed his coffee was worrisome.

"It's his eyes."

Instead of the headmaster, it was her fellow peer that answered in his stead.

"Pardon?"

"His eyes," Peter repeated, lacing his fingers together. "He has the eyes that even most veteran hunters cannot match." He turned his attention to Ozpin. "Forgive me if I'm overstepping my boundaries, but what do you know of him, Ozpin? He looks to not even be half my age, yet his eyes tell me that he has seen the death of countless, and what seems to be years of live combat experience under his belt."

"His ability to make things appear and disappear at will are quite fascinating as well," Bart said. "Never before have I seen such a thing."

There was another sip of coffee before the headmaster decided to give an answer.

"He has kept his past a secret, so I don't know much about him. He is, without a doubt, the most tight-lipped person I've ever met." Ozpin swirled his coffee in his hands as he donned a contemplative look. "I have tried on numerous occasions to ask him on his past, but he would steer the topic of conversation away very easily."

"And you let this man, a stranger who seems to have fought and seen the deaths of many, possibly was the cause of some of them, stay in Vale?" Glydna narrowed her eyes. "Ozpin, you know I trust you, and I'm sorry for this, but this is undoubtedly naive. Even for you."

"His past may be shrouded in mystery, but he is trustworthy nonetheless."

"Because of how good you are at judging a person's character?"

"That, and because he _is_ the reason why our special guest is still alive, after all."

The entire table fell silent as Ozpin practically dropped a verbal bomb on the professors, but the headmaster continued as if he was simply talking about the weather.

"Our original caretaker was held back by a few minutes by someone, who I can only assume to be one of _her_ pieces. Those precious minutes were enough to bring our guest under danger, a danger that was only thwarted by a certain shop owner. Due to this, our guest was unharmed, and is now safe and sound within Beacon with her gift. I never even mentioned our guest to him. It was by mere chance that Robin came across her at that time."

"This is not something that we should be openly discussing in such a public place, Ozpin," Glydna hissed.

"You need not worry about us being overheard. No one can hear us right now."

When Glynda raised an eyebrow, Ozpin merely motioned over her shoulder.

There was a clear, film-like substance surrounding the four teachers like a bubble. The film itself was less than a millimeter thin, yet it didn't tear when Bart curiously poked at it. Instead, the bubble's surface seemed to contort and wrap itself around the man's finger, which sparked his curiosity even more.

"I don't know what it is exactly, seeing how Robin only used it once before in the few years I've known him. What I do know is that this bubble is completely soundproof; no sound made inside this bubble will reach the outside," Ozpin said, answering the question that was in their heads.

Leaving Oobleck alone to prod and study the bubble, Peter and Glydna turned towards Ozpin.

"So why is he here in Vale when he could be elsewhere?"

"He wanted to open up a coffee shop."

One professor burst into boisterous laughter while the other narrowed her eyes.

"Forgive me if I find that to be a very unconvincing reason," Glynda glowered.

"You wound me, Professor Goodwitch. Opening up a coffee shop has been a dream of mine for a quite some time now."

The man in question suddenly appeared in front of their table with a tray balanced in one hand. Glydna was never one to be unaware of her surroundings, so how the man moved from his workspace behind the counter to one of the shop's window seats worried her. She hadn't even seen him move, and since Peter looked to be just as surprised as her, it was the same for him. Bart, on the other hand, was too immersed in studying their surrounding bubble to even take notice of Robin.

"Your headmaster is not lying," Robin continued, placing the tray onto the table. "After I did him a favor a while ago, he wanted to repay me in some way. We talked for a bit and here we are."

"A favor?"

"That is a topic that is not for me to share," Robin politely replied with a smile. "Disregarding all that, your drinks. A third cup for the headmaster - " Glydna rolled her eyes. " - cream and sugar for the man of legend - " Peter let out a hearty "Oho!" as he took his cup. " - the red eye for the wizened doctor - " Bart was a blur as he nearly snatched the cup out of Robin's hands and took his seat. " - and the matcha tea for the lovely professor."

Contrary to how those words were normally said, there wasn't an ounce of a flirtatious tone in Robin's voice. It was spoken in such a courteous and refined manner. So much so that for a second, Glynda thought she was in the presence of a Schnee, barring the one in Team RWBY sitting a few tables down from hers.

Gratefully taking the cup in Robin's hands, she took a look at her drink. She was expecting a variety of things from Robin's description of what the Sakura no Hime was, but she wasn't expecting a cloudy green liquid that could almost be passed off as a juice of sorts. In hindsight, it should've been obvious since he said that it was powdered leaves mixed in water or milk.

"Is there anything else that I can get you?" Robin asked, relieving a certain coffee addict of his second empty cup.

"Nothing for now," said coffee addict replied.

"At the rate in which you're drinking coffee, I don't think that'll last for long," Robin quipped with a slight smirk. "Nonetheless, I shall take my leave."

Glynda watched the retreating figure as she took a sip of her drink. Her eyebrows moved upwards ever so slightly from the pleasant taste.

She made a mental note in her head to come back here again.

 _ **. . .**_

Robin finished drying his last cup and shelved it with the others. Business was better than he expected, especially since it was only a week since the opening of A Shepherd's Rest. There were a few slow hours, such as when Team RWBY and Beacon's professors and headmaster dropped by, but other than that, there was a steady stream of customers that came into the shop, with the majority of them being civilians.

And throughout the entire week, no one asked him about the choice of interior design, which was to be expected. No one knew who he was here, which was something he was grateful for. Too often he'd walk around the streets of any city or town back in his world with people knowing who he was. Most would give him looks of reverence and praise, while the rest would look at him with hatred and spite. Not that he could blame those few; they were the families who were torn apart from his strategies.

He looked around at his shop once more. If Chrom or Lissa ever saw this place, Robin knew for a fact that they'd never let him hear the end of it, especially after he renounced his royal heritage. He never really understood why he chose the current color scheme. He had fully planned on it being white and blue, but made the last minute decision to make the interior purple and gold. Perhaps he was still clinging onto his past more than he thought.

"At least I didn't put the Mark of Grima on the walls. Creepy thing would probably scare people away."

Robin was fully aware that he was alone in the store and that he was talking to himself, but he didn't care. He looked at the golden rose and Brand of the Exalt on the walls and a sad smile tugged on the corners of his lips. If anything else, the two marks were signs of the people he called his family, regardless of his bloodline.

A family that he was forced to leave behind with his final sacrifice. He could only pray to whatever powers or gods that there were to keep his family safe.

Well, except for Death. Forget Death. That terrifying, scythe-wielding, insane, Tharja-bodied, black-robed demon of a woman could stay as far away from his family as possible for all he cared. Worlds apart, even.

"Stupid woman nearly killed me in the afterlife. Didn't think that was a thing until it did. Freaky woman."

With that final grumble under his breath, Robin shut off the lights of his store.

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **I've been toying around with different perspectives/point of views in this story. Hopefully, the transitions between each character was clear and aren't too jarring. Not sticking to a single person's perspective is something that I didn't do much of in the past, so hopefully, I'm doing decently here.**

 **And to those of you that are followers of Another Awakening, this is not the same Robin from that story. Similar, but not the same. Think of it as an AU character of an already established AU character of sorts.**

 **All the drink names are references to the characters in Awakening. They shouldn't be too difficult to match up, save for one (maybe). Quite a forgettable character.**

 **The tea, 'Sakura no Hime', is a reference to Say'ri and Robin's support, just as I stated above. She mentions the cherry blossoms that decorate her land, and seeing how matcha is of eastern/Asian origin, well…it all fit together quite nicely. And the name 'Sakura no Hime' is not to be confused with 'Sakura-hime'. One means the Princess of Sakura while the other means Princess Sakura.**

 **And no, Amber is not perfectly fine. She still got a portion of her Maiden powers stolen, but instead of Qrow coming in to help, it was Robin. Qrow only arrived a little later, which by then, Cinder would've finished taking all of Amber's powers had Robin not been there. It's a slight deviation from canon, but as they say, the ripple effect. Who knows what could happen.**

* * *

 **Thank you for all the follows, favorites, and reviews. Speaking of reviews...**

 **SunbroLQ84i, I've some choice words for you.**

 **That was a good one.**

 **That was good. Seriously. Made me laugh when I read it during the middle of work.**


	3. Off Day

**I'm enjoying writing this a lot more than I expected. Perhaps it's because it's a fresh idea for me?**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

"Pardon me, mister Deathstalker, but I do believe I need to get by."

The Deathstalker clicked its powerful pincers together and let out a loud hiss. Its tail was taut with tension, ready to snap forward with enough force to punch through a thick slab of steel as if it was paper.

"I seem to have angered you. My deepest apologies. Are you a missus Deathstalker, by chance?"

The tail shot forward at a speed that could outclass Dust rounds, but its target vanished. The stinger impaled the ground, sending up a large cloud of dirt, and the Deathstalker retreated a few steps as it pulled back its stinger.

" _Miss_ Deathstalker, perhaps? Terribly sorry, I am unfamiliar with the physiology of your kind, so I do not know how to differentiate between the males and females of your group."

The voice came from behind the cloud of dust, and the Deathstalker lunged forward. The moment it appeared on the other side of the cloud, it lashed out with its pincers, each being capable of crushing an armored Atlesian vehicle with ease. However, its pincers hit nothing as its target took a quick step backward, easily avoiding the crushing blow.

"Please, there is no need for such hostilities. I only wish to enter that forest behind you, but if you continue with this unneeded aggression, I am afraid I will have to retaliate for the sake of my own safety."

The Deathstalker ignored the words as it moved forward once more. Its prey let out a sigh, casually dodging another swipe from its large pincers. It watched as its target raised a single hand with a thumb and middle finger placed against one another. Dodging another attack from its stinger, the human snapped its fingers.

The air hummed with electricity and there was a tingling feeling that coursed through its body. It never had a chance to figure out what the feeling was as its vision flashed a brilliant yellow. Then nothing.

"Truly, I wished no harm to beset you, but I was given no choice."

Robin dusted his hands before brushing off a few specks of dirt from his beloved cloak, which was different from the one he wore during the war against Gangrel and Walhart while still looking different. The one he wore now was a gift he received only weeks before the second Plegian war and against Grima himself.

"Now then…"

He started walking again towards a grey forest. Grey seemed to be a constant color on this continent. Everything was that color; the ground, sky, rocks, shrubs, trees, _everything_. At least, for this corner of the continent.

"Time to restock on my coffee beans."

Just as he passed the first line of trees, he came to a stop. Another Grimm was in front of him, this one far older and powerful than the Deathstalker. Fortunately for Robin, he learned his lesson from the overgrown scorpion.

"Greetings, Lord Nuckelavee. I hate to be a bother, but would you kindly let me pass through?"

While the terms "mister", "missus", and "miss" were gender specific, the term "lord" could be used for either male or female. Of course, there was "lady", but that one was most definitely gender specific, while "lord" was not even if it was generally used for males. Hence, when referring to anyone as such, there was a very little chance of offending them.

Robin would never start off on the wrong foot with a Grimm again.

 _ **. . .**_

Pyrrha took a seat in her usual spot at the lunch table. The rest of her team sat down with her with Jaune on her right and Ren and Nora sitting on the other side.

"So!" a girl in red chirped from the two seats down. "What are you guys planning on doing today?"

Her team glanced all looked at Jaune. After a brief second, he shrugged.

"Bleehhh, so boring!" Ruby whined. "It's the weekend! Do something fun!"

"True, I guess we could do something," Pyrrha nodded. "We haven't really gone outside of Beacon, have we?"

Ren shook his head as he took a bite out of his sandwich. "Homework and exam studying took up most of our schedule, unlike a certain team." He threw an accusatory glance at Team RWBY. "But since we don't have major assignments coming up, I suppose we can make a trip to the city."

"Why not try that one cafe that's been the craze lately?" Jaune suggested.

"Ooh! You mean A Shepherd's Rest!" Ruby's eyes lit up in excitement. "You should definitely check it out!"

"I heard that the owner is a magician. Is that true?" Pyrrha skeptically asked.

"A magician?!" Nora squealed while Jaune's brow furrowed.

"You mean like the ones at parties that pull bunnies out of hats and make a deck of cards disappear? We all know they're fake."

"You sound like you're little too familiar with them," Yang grinned. "Why? Was one of your birthdays ruined by a magician?"

"Wh-What! N-No, of course not!" Jaune stammered, his face turning red.

"Well, you'll want to believe this one. He's different from those party magicians," Blake said, her head buried in her book.

Pyrrha raised her eyebrows, partially because she recognized the book's title, _The Divine and the Fell: The War of Sand_ , and also partially because Blake actually spoke. It wasn't often that Blake would talk in the group, so for her to speak now added a lot of credibility.

"Yeah! Robin's like an actual magician!" Ruby beamed. "It's like he can do _actual_ magic! He made ice cream appear out of thin air and took out his menus from nothing and made our drinks appear onto our table when he wasn't anywhere nearby and made the cups move without even touching them and - "

"Ruby, deep breaths. No one's going anywhere," Yang laughed, placing a hand on her sister's shoulder.

Ren gave Weiss a deadpan stare. "Is that true?"

"…Quite," Weiss sighed. "However, I believe his "magic" is more of a Semblance." Her grip tightening around the butter knife in her hand did not go unnoticed by Pyrrha. "The audacity of that man… How dare he? Acting like a teacher, telling me that I should know better," she grumbled.

"Uhh…what's up with Snow Angel?" Jaune cautiously asked. "She seems kinda…angsty about something."

"I am _not_ angsty! And do _not_ call me that!" Weiss glared.

"She got played by Robin the other day," Yang cheekily answered, much to Weiss' chagrin.

"I did NOT get PLAYED!"

Now that was something. Someone getting the better of Weiss Schnee? If it was someone like Yang, it'd be more believable. The blonde wasn't known for keeping her cool, after all. That was something that Weiss was known for, and if someone was able to "play" her…well, it was needless to say that Pyrrha's curiosity was piqued by this Robin.

Which is exactly why Team Juniper was standing in front of the doors to A Shepherd's Rest just before breakfast the following morning.

"So…" Jaune stared up at the simplistic sign above the door. "This is the place, huh?"

"What are we waiting for? Let's go meet this magician!"

Nora gleefully ran forward before J_PR had a chance to stop her. Fortunately for them, they didn't have to as the energetic girl slammed her head into the shop's door and comically fell backward onto the ground.

"Nora!" Ren cried out, running up to his fallen friend. "Nora, are you alright?!"

"Uuuhhhh…Reeeennnnn… The magician sealed off his workshooopppp…" Nora slurred, looking up at Ren with unfocused eyes.

"I don't think that's the case here, Nora," Pyrrha laughed, pointing at the "Closed" sign on the door. "I think the cafe's just closed for today."

"What! No way!" Jaune pulled out his scroll and frantically tapped on the screen. "Welp said that it's open every day of the…oh…" His voice trailed off and he sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "It says that this place is closed on the weekends."

"That makes sense. I'd be more surprised if A Shepherd's Rest was open every day," Pyrrha said.

"So, what do we do now?" Jaune asked.

"Mrblgrahgr…"

"No, Nora. We will not break into the store, nor will we break the owner's legs for being closed on weekends," Ren reprimanded.

There was another string of incomprehensible words from the dazed girl.

"We will not camp out here all night either," Ren sighed, shaking his head. "It's nine in the morning and A Shepherd's Rest will not open until two mornings from now. We should utilize our time more efficiently rather than waste it outside of a closed store."

"I'm surprised you can understand her," Jaune muttered.

Ren shrugged and picked up Nora in his arms.

"We could always train," Pyrrha offered. "The Vytal festival is coming up in two months, so we should get some practice in while we can."

"Yeah, you're right," Jaune dejectedly sighed. "Let's head back to Beacon."

A third jumble of words came from Nora.

"Uhhh…but before that, you guys wanna grab some breakfast?"

 _ **. . .**_

Robin crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. His brow was furrowed in mild irritation and he narrowed his eyes at the man seated across the table. The digital clock on the table flickered as the numbers changed to 08:09.

"I don't want to," he firmly said.

"I ask that you reconsider." The man laced his fingers under his chin. "This will be beneficial to the both of us."

"And I ask that you stop asking me this question. Beneficial or detrimental, I couldn't care less."

"What if I have a proposition for you? You can say "no" if you - "

"No."

"…You don't even want to hear it?"

"Nope."

"I'll say please."

"Still no."

"Please."

"I don't give a damn if you make some grand offer or honey-coat your words, my answer isn't going to change."

"…There is truly nothing that I can say to make you agree?"

"En, oh. No. I even spelled it out for you to make it easier."

"Would you both just shut it already? I'm only a third of the way through my flask, and that's not even a tenth of the amount I need to drink to even begin dealing with the two of you."

Robin threw a glare over to his right. "Piss off, Qrow! You're named after a bird and you don't even have wings!"

"Pot, kettle, black, you ass! At least I can turn into a bird and fly!"

"And I can use Spellcraft to fly without having to turn into a rodent with wings! So what?"

"A crow is a hell of a lot less likely to draw attention than some freak of nature flying through the sky!"

"And a crow is a hell of a lot uglier than a human body!"

"Why are you two arguing in my office…"

"You called me here, you obstinate old man!" "You called me here, you senile wizard!"

Robin and Qrow yelled at Ozpin simultaneously, causing the headmaster to massage his temples in an attempt to relieve the stress that was building up. He looked over at Robin.

"For the last time, I will not take up a teaching position at Beacon," Robin said, not giving Ozpin the chance to speak. "I'm very content with my current job and I have no plans on leaving it any time soon."

"I assure you, we can work around the fact that you're working at A Shepherd's Rest while also taking up a position here as a professor," Ozpin insisted. "Just a couple of classes per week of your choosing. Not only will it help the students, but it would help put my own mind at ease if you're on Beacon grounds should anything happen."

"I can travel the distance from my shop to your office in a literal second. We all know this," Robin countered. "And should anything happen, I'd be one of the first to know, if not _the_ first. I was the one that put up safeguards and wards throughout the school, after all."

"Will you at least tell me why you don't want to stay in the school?"

"Will you at least tell me why you _want_ me to stay in the school?"

"Touché. Will you be joining us for the Vytal Festival?"

Robin stood from his seat. "Lemme think on that and I'll get back to you."

"By all means. Good day, Robin," Ozpin said with a wave of his hand.

He suddenly stopped after taking a few steps away from the desk and turned around.

"Right, before I forget…" Robin reached into his robe and pulled out a small pouch. Tossing it over to Ozpin, he continued, "Coffee beans. They aren't roasted yet, so have fun doing that tedious process yourself. I do enough of that already at my place."

Ozpin opened the bag and peered inside. His eyes widened a second later. "Robin, are these…?"

"The latest blend of coffee that I procured? Yes. And before you ask where I got them from, let's just say I went overseas. Somewhere northwest, and I'm not talking about Atlas."

Qrow burst into laughter and leaned back in his chair. "You're telling me that you went halfway across the damned world to an uncharted continent that's crawling with powerful Grimm? Just for some beans? You got guts, I'll give you that much - woah!"

Qrow's reflexes kicked in, honed from years of being a Huntsman, and caught the maroon bottle that was hurled towards his face.

"I didn't go just for coffee beans, you drunk lout. I went for two other reasons, one of them being that there's a certain ingredient that I can only get there, which is used to make that drink in your hands," Robin lectured. "Just one thing about that; it is _at least_ ten times more potent than Olympian Hearthfire, so have fun with it. That's the only bottle I'm giving away so if you want more, you'll have to pay me for it. And it is _not_ going to be cheap, given the effort needed to brew it."

Now that he finished saying everything he wanted to say, Robin prepared a short distance warp spell. Just as it was finished, he heard a _thud_ from behind him.

And then he was gone, reappearing in the lobby of Ozpin's little tower.

"Done already? I'd expected your meeting with Ozpin to be at least an hour."

Robin gave a polite bow to Goodwitch. "He was merely extending his offer once again. Nothing more than that."

"I see." The blonde nodded once before turning back to her desk. "If there is nothing else, then you may leave."

"Actually, I was planning on briefly walking through the school grounds," Robin said, grabbing her attention. "I'm not sure whether or not Ozpin told you, but I placed wards all around the school some time ago, and I would like to check up on them."

"Yes, he has given me the papers on them that same day," Goodwitch replied, pulling up a manilla folder. "It took me the better part of two days to decipher your methods, and even then, I do not understand all of it. With your...Spellcraft, I believe you called it? With it being this complex and unknown, I doubt that any student or faculty member could have tampered with it."

"True, but one can never be too careful with these sorts of things. A complex system is a double-edged sword, in a sense. While yes, the more complex a system is, the more secure it is. However, should a single thing go wrong in the countless algorithms, the entire system could fall on itself. I suppose that's what safeguards and contingency measures are for, but those can only do so much."

Goodwitch stared at Robin for what seemed like an eternity. She was definitely in what Robin and Qrow dubbed as her 'Professor Persona', and for good reason. The aura around her, not her soul-Aura, but her aura she emits, would change and adopt a professional feeling. Her eyes would gain a sharp glint as she carefully scrutinized every move of the person in front of her, and her already straight back would somehow straighten even further.

 _'If only you were here, Frederick. I believe I've found your perfect soulmate,'_ Robin silently joked. _'She's to Ozpin as you are to Chrom.'_

"…Very well, you may do as you wish," she finally said, turning her attention to her work once again.

"Then by your leave, Lady Goodwitch."

Robin bowed once more and left the building. At least, he would have, had his Scroll not vibrated in his pocket at that very moment. He took out the small device and opened the message he received from Ozpin. A second later, a photo that the headmaster himself took popped up.

"…Lady Goodwitch? Would you, by any chance, be acquainted with a certain huntsman known as 'Qrow'?" Robin asked, his eyes not leaving his Scroll's screen.

There was a brief moment of silence before Goodwitch curtly replied, "What of him?"

"Nothing really. Just a simple curiosity," Robin said, tapping away on his screen. "I take it that the man tends to be quite brash towards you?" He received a slight tilt of her head in response and a second later, her Scroll beeped once. "I just sent you a…how should I put this… It is something that can be used as _leverage_ in the future."

Pocketing his Scroll, Robin gave a polite bow to Professor Goodwitch once more before teleporting away.

 _ **. . .**_

"What a strange man…" Glynda muttered to herself. "Leverage, he said?"

She opened her Scroll and brought up Robin's message in a practiced motion. His message wasn't originally his, given by the "FWD:" in front of the attachment. She hesitated for a second, but her curiosity won her over and she opened the attachment.

Glynda's lips curled up into a chilling smile.

"Leverage indeed."

It wasn't every day that she'd have a photo of Qrow passed out on the floor with an alcohol bottle in his hand. The caption, _"A single sip was all it took,"_ made it all the more satisfying.

 _ **. . .**_

Three hours and eighteen minutes later, Robin pulled up another link in his ward. Neon blue and purple lights appeared before him, lighting up the hallway with its glow even further. The lights started to gather into a central area, creating a double circle with a myriad of strange characters in between. A multitude of lines crisscrossed the circles, and four smaller circles appeared in the air, three just on the perimeter and one near the center.

"Here we go again. Runic Graph Number 154 out of 154," Robin muttered. "At least I'm almost done."

His hands started to move automatically, moving around characters and circles all over the place in a well-practiced motion. He was somewhat aware of the students walking through the hallway as he worked. Most were dressed in the school uniform while a few were headed towards the training grounds in their combat gear.

Something touched his shoulder. Robin paid it no mind as he continued to work.

Something fell onto the ground next to him. Robin paid it no mind as he continued to work.

That something went "Oof," followed by a "Cardin, you good?" Despite all that, Robin still continued to work, but now he had a new piece of information in his mind. That 'something' that seemed to have intentionally bumped Robin only to fall on his rear apparently had a name.

"I'm fine!" That 'something' hastily stood to his feet. "Let's go and leave the nerd be. He's not worth our time."

"A'ight, your call, bro."

Robin was vaguely aware of the small group of students leave. He continued to grab the runes and circles in front of him and move them around. When he was done, he brought his hands together in a large sweeping motion, and the Runic Graph collapsed.

 _'Why in the seventh heaven did I make these things so complicated…'_ Robin mentally groaned.

Brushing his hands free of nonexistent dust, he started to walk once more. He could have easily shortened the distance between where he stood and to A Shepherd's Rest, making the near hour-long trip into only a single step, but he decided to take the scenic route home.

As he turned the third bend in the many halls, something through the window caught his eye on his left. It wasn't really anything of significance. It was a sight that was so common in Beacon that it was considered to be the norm. But to Robin, it was a nostalgic sight.

 _'Uncle Robin? May I ask of you a favor?'_

Before he knew it, Robin was already walking towards the combat arena.

 _'Of course. What is it?'_

The passing students gave him confused looks, most likely wondering what a man not in uniform was doing walking around Beacon's halls.

 _'A few of my friends and I were planning on practicing, and we were wondering if you could watch over us.'_

He passed by the locker rooms. There was no need for him to change out of his coat. The Reinforcement spell he placed on it made it impervious to anything weaker than A-Tier Spellcasts and unique weapons.

 _'While I'm more than willing to watch, why me? I'm not the best fighter in the Shepherds. Lon'qu is a master of the blade and Frederick has been schooling the Ylissean Army for quite some time now. Your father has been winning our spars much more frequently nowadays.'_

The sounds of fighting were clear now. He entered the spectators' seating area and sat down in one of the many seats.

 _'There is truth in your words. However, none of them have your eyes and mind. That alone puts you above the other Shepherds.'_

Four students were sparring against each other in teams of two. One team was using the classic sword and shield combo while the other team had one wielding a giant hammer and the second wielding twin sickle-like weapons.

 _'You flatter me, Lucina,' he jokingly said. 'Very well, let us go. Who else will be joining us?'_

 _'Inigo, Gerome, and Cynthia. The latter two wished to practice fighting without their mounts, and Cynthia has been wanting to try wielding one of our warhammers.'_

 _'I don't think our warhammers and pegasi mix well. There's a reason why none of our pegasus knights wield heavy weapons during live combat.'_

 _'I've already told her that, but she wouldn't listen. Instead, she said that heroes should be knowledgeable and skilled in all weapons. Unbelievable, that girl.'_

 _Robin chuckled as they continued to walk. 'That certainly sounds like something she would say. I'd suggest that you and Inigo pair up against Gerome and Cynthia.'_

 _'I would've thought that Inigo and I be on different teams to balance it out?'_

 _'If they're not used to fighting without their mounts and Cynthia's wielding a weapon she doesn't know how to use, then it'll be better if they fight you and Inigo. The two of them can test the waters as they try to score a hit on you and Inigo, while the two of you try to evade them as long as you can. The greater the obstacle, the more growth there will be. They'll be forced to try new things that find something that feels right for them.'_

 _'I see.' Lucina nodded as she pondered over Robin's words. 'Since we're on the topic of greater obstacles, may I ask something else of you?'_

 _'If it is within the realm of possibilities, then yes.'_

The two teams split apart and lowered their weapons. They casually approached each other and started talking. Since he was seated a little too far away, Robin was unable to hear what they were saying, but he was able to get a gist of what was going on from their body motions.

Seeing how they were done sparring, Robin stood up and started to leave.

"Um, excuse me?"

He turned around. All four of the students were looking at him and the blonde boy was standing in the front.

"Yes?"

"Can I…uhh…" The boy nervously glanced back at his team. The red-haired girl gave him an encouraging smile. "Uhh…can I ask a favor?"

 _ **. . .**_

"This guy's an absolute monster."

Pyrrha could only nod her head once in utter exhaustion as Jaune collapsed onto the bench next to her. Never before had she been pushed so hard in a fight. Not her multitude of opponents in the championships, not the Grimm she fought in the Emerald Forest, in fact, not even her combat teachers were as skilled as the lone man in the arena.

She watched in silent admiration as the man fought against Ren and Nora by himself. In all honesty, the spar itself was an impromptu match itself. Jaune had merely asked the man for his thoughts on their training, and the man pointed out many flaws in their teamwork and coordination. He especially talked to Jaune about his lackluster combat performance.

Then the man offered to help them with their training. When asked why he replied that it was simply because he "felt like it" and because the four of them reminded of a few of his past friends. While Pyrrha wanted to know more, she held her silence due to the tone the man had, and then their match began.

At the start, it was originally all of Team JNPR fighting the man. Pyrrha thought the man to be overconfident and boastful, wanting to take on an entire team that included a four-time champion of the Mistral tournaments.

That thought was immediately thrown out of her mind when the man took out his weapon. The reason why wasn't because of the beautifully crafted blade (which it totally was), nor was it because he seemed to pull the sword out of thin air.

No, it was because of how the man handled the weapon in his hand; because of how _normal_ he seemed to look. She read that a seasoned huntsman would wield their choice of weapon as an extension of themselves, but she never saw it with her own eyes. Every huntsman and huntress that she saw, including the professors at Beacon, would use their weapon as a weapon, not as an extension of their own person, and Pyrrha herself was no exception with Miló and Akoúo̱.

But this man, this random stranger that simply happened to be watching them spar out of mere chance, held his sword in such a relaxed and natural manner that he seemed to be more comfortable with his weapon in hand than without.

When their spar began, Pyrrha noticed that the man was holding back within the first two minutes. The calm smile that he wore even before their match began remained even under the barrage of blows from her team. His movements were made with the least amount of effort required, weaving in and out of their attacks like water flowing between rocks. It wasn't until the man's first counter that Pyrrha realized just how terribly outmatched her entire team was and by that time, nearly ten minutes had passed.

By the twelfth minute, Pyrrha was the out of the match by tournament standards. While her Aura wasn't exactly low after her team's spar, which hovered just above eighty, her Aura was cut down to six percent after only four strikes. All delivered from the _back_ of his blade. Pyrrha shuddered at the thought of what would've happened had the man used the sharp side of his sword.

Not even a minute later, Jaune ungracefully landed next to her, cursing and muttering under his breath, leaving Nora and Ren alone with the stranger.

"Taaaaaaaaaaaake THIS!"

Pyrrha winced as the stranger decided to not listen to Nora as he smoothly back stepped, avoiding Magnhild's earth-shattering blow. Cracks webbed out from where the hammer struck the arena floor and a moment later, Nora was tumbling across the ground and rolled to a stop in front of Jaune. Her Aura meter was dangling at a dangerous one percent.

"It's all up to Ren now," Jaune said as he helped Nora onto the bench and glanced up at the holo-screen on one of the arena walls. Only four gauges were displayed, each belonging to a member of team JNPR. "And seeing how Ren's Aura is at sixty-seven and how we couldn't land a single hit on the guy? I don't know, Pyr. Could be a close fight," he jokingly added.

Pyrrha held her hand over her mouth as she laughed. "I agree. Ren might just be able to…"

Her voice trailed off as the man seemed to converse with their last standing comrade. Pyrrha was too far away to hear what they were saying, but they must've come to some sort of agreement as both fighters stowed their weapons. Ren folded Stormflower and slid them into his sleeves while the man twirled his sword down to his side before the elegant blade vanished into nothing.

"I guess it's over now," Jaune assumed, starting to rise to his feet.

"Wait." Pyrrha grabbed onto Jaune's arm and pulled him back down. "The Aura screen is still up. If they called off the match then the screen would've vanished."

"You're right," Jaune muttered. "Then why did they put their weapons away?"

His answer came when both the man and Ren took unarmed combat stances.

"Aww…but that was such a cool sword!"

Pyrrha silently agreed with her partner. While she wouldn't call it "cool", she did admit that the man's sword could only be described as beautiful, and even that didn't feel right.

"I wonder where he got it from…" Pyrrha said to herself. "Perhaps he crafted it himself?"

 _ **. . .**_

 _Robin closed the door to his room behind him as he shrugged off his new cloak. Neatly folding it and placing it on his desk along with a couple of more items, he walked over to his bed with the intention of retiring for the night, were it not for the knock that came from his door._

 _"It's open," Robin called._

 _The door clicked open and his wife strode into the room, still wearing the silk, indigo dress from earlier in the evening._

 _"Happy birthday again, Robin." She warmly smiled at him. "Did you enjoy today's events?"_

 _"Enjoy it?" Robin chuckled. "I think that would be a severe understatement and unfortunately, I cannot think of a better word for it in my tired state."_

 _"I'm glad to hear it. I did help organize the events, after all."_

 _"Did you also plan on getting nearly every Shepherd so drunk to the point that Vaike tried to kiss Sully's horse? I think Gregor tried to bed Laurent, thinking that he was a woman, and I had to electrocute Inigo when he tried to kiss Morgan in his inebriated state."_

 _She pursed her lips. "I will admit, I did not expect things to escalate to that point. I'm sorry."_

 _Robin laughed wrapped his arms around her in a loving embrace. "Don't be. This was the first time that I was able to celebrate my birthday with people that I can truly call my family, and I could not have asked for a better experience."_

 _"Well…" His wife gently pushed herself off of his chest and stared into his eyes. "Are you sure about that?"_

 _His brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"_

 _Looking over her shoulder, she called out to the open door. "Morgan, Gerome? You can come in now."_

 _His children walked into the room, one with a spring to her step and the other in a much more reserved manner. Robin did not miss the glee in his daughter's eyes as she tackled him in a hug._

 _"Happy birthday, Father!" Morgan beamed. "We've got you one last present!"_

 _Rubbing the top of Morgan's head, Robin looked back at his wife, unable to stop the smile from forming on his face. "What's going on? You all got me a gift already."_

 _He motioned over to his desk. There was an aged book on philosophy from his son that dated back to the time when the Hero King was still known as Prince Marth. Next to it was a gleaming cube that was suspended in the air on its own. It was a gift from Morgan, and the cube was imbued was an unknown magic that dispersed any Spellcraft into its basic form of pure mana. Years down the line, Robin would discover that the cube didn't disperse Spellcraft but would instead reverse the time of the Spellcraft back into what it originally was, but that was neither here nor there._

 _The last gift was from his wife, which was a hand sewn coat as a replacement for the one that was burnt to cinders by the Mage General Pheros. It looked nearly identical to his original cloak, and Robin would have thought so were it not for the seven petaled rose that was sewn onto the back, just between his shoulder blades. It was also heavier since Minerva's scales were sewn into it. How that was managed, Robin had absolutely no idea._

 _"That we did, but this last gift is one from all of us," his wife said before nodding at Morgan._

 _"Hehe, wait till you see this, Father!" Morgan held out her hands with her palms facing up. A silver light surrounded her body for a fraction of a second before vanishing, and then a long, thin box suddenly appeared in her hands. "Tada!"_

 _Needless to say, Robin was taken aback at the sudden appearance of the box. "What was that?"_

 _"It's a secret~" Morgan chimed._

 _"Morgan was working with Spacialcraft a couple months ago. Since then, she's been working on creating a pocket dimension to store items in, having only just gotten the hang of it two weeks prior from today," Gerome said, popping her younger sister's bubble._

 _"Gerome! You can't spoil it like that!" Morgan pouted, and Gerome avoided her eyes._

 _"She's been wanting to show you it for a long time," his wife laughed. "I asked her to keep her pocket dimension as a secret until your birthday, just for this moment."_

 _"And then stupid Gerome had to ruin it," Morgan grumbled, which Robin found to be utterly adorable._

 _Still avoiding his sister's eyes, Gerome let out a "hmph" and Morgan stuck her tongue out at her older brother._

 _"Go on. Open it," his wife soothingly said._

 _Taking the box from Morgan's arms, Robin gently placed it on the desk. After taking the latches off the lid, he opened the box, and a gasp escaped his throat._

 _"I know your fondness for the blades of the Chon'sin variety, so I asked Princess - that is to say, Empress Say'ri to craft this sword for you."_

 _The sword seemed to hum with delight when Robin picked it up. It was a beautifully crafted sword, if not unorthodox. The hilt was wrapped in a pure white, silky leather, or the 'tsuka', as the people of Chon'sin would call it. Was it called that? Perhaps he was wrong._

 _The guard was crafted into the shape of a seven petaled rose, the national symbol of Rosanne, and elegant engravings adorned the pommel. The blade had seemed to change color from a light purple into white, depending on the angle it was viewed at, but the most interesting part of the weapon was how the blade was attached to the hilt._

 _Where the blade would normally be was a much smaller blade, roughly a fifth of the normal size and twice as thick. It looked as if someone stuck a dull spearhead in place of the sword. Two protrusions stuck out from the thick metal, and the actual blade itself was attached to the two protrusions, giving it a mechanically strange yet beautiful look._

 _"What…how…?"_

 _Robin was at a loss for words._

 _"I know how attached you were to Sol, and I knew how saddened you became when it broke during our fight against Walhart. I retrieved what I could of its remains and handed them to Empress Say'ri, which she gave to the master blacksmith. The blacksmith already created eight legendary weapons of Virtue and Cruelty, all of which were sealed away. This sword here…" His wife placed her hand over his. "…was his final work."_

 _Robin gently placed the sword back into the case's velvet interior. Suddenly, he pulled his family into a tight embrace._

 _"Thank you. Thank you so much."_

 _Even as the words left his mouth, they didn't feel right. They failed to carry the weight of the emotions he was feeling and he felt as though it wasn't enough. Thankfully, his family understood as they wrapped their arms around him._

 _After what seemed like an eternity, he slowly lowered his arms, and while Morgan and Gerome also lowered theirs, his wife did not do the same. After sharing a glance, his children decided it was time to leave their parents alone._

 _"You're welcome…Father," Gerome solemnly said._

 _"Love you!" Morgan smiled behind wet eyes._

 _The door closed behind them and his wife tenderly wrapped her arms around him once more. Tears threatened to form in the corners of his eyes as they held each other._

 _"Truly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you," Robin said, his voice no more than a whisper. "How can I ever repay you for this?"_

 _"You don't have to. It was a gift."_

 _Robin shook his head. "You've already done so much for me. You even blessed me with something that I thought I'd never have, even in my dreams; you've given me a family." A lone tear rolled down his cheek. "And now you've returned not only one, but two of my belongings that were with me for as long as I could remember. Please, let me do something in return for all that you have done for me."_

 _"The same goes for me as well," she gently said. "You liberated my home from the conqueror's rule and freed its people. I lived in service to House Virion for as long as I could remember, and I thought that I would live out my life alone. Just as I've given you a family, you've given me one as well. That alone is more than enough."_

 _Robin said nothing. He couldn't say anything._

 _"Just promise me one thing…"_

 _"Of course."_

 _When she spoke again, her voice was fragile, almost like glass._

 _"Promise me that we'll stay together."_

 _ **. . .**_

Robin walked into his room one floor above A Shepherd's Rest. He took off his coat and hung it in his closet. After closing the closet door, he took in a deep breath.

"I made a promise to you and I fully intend to keep it," Robin vowed. "Until I see you, Gerome, and Morgan again, I will not stop searching for a way back."

Robin reached into the void and pulled out his gifted sword, Sponsus. Even after years of use, there wasn't a single sign of wear or rust on the blade. It looked the same as it did when he received it all those years ago.

Stowing Sponsus back into his spacial storage, Robin pulled out the book of philosophy and the time cube and placed it on his desk, right next to a photo of his family that he kept ever since Libra painted it for him.

"And as you said, _'Don't make a girl a promise if you know you can't keep it.'_ Right, Cherche?"

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **To those of you who guessed Cherche, you are correct!**

 **It's amazing how Robin's mannerisms change depending on who he's speaking to in both speech and actions. Kinda like how most people are to their close friends and those that aren't friends.**

 **Robin's sword design is pretty much the same as Virtuous Treaty/Cruel Blood Oath from NieR: Automata, just with purple and gold instead of white and black/gold and black. It's not exactly as large as, nor is it as small as Contract/Oath. It's somewhere in between (blade length of ~80cm/31in (for comparison, a standard katana usually has a blade length of ~70cm/28in).**

 **As for the sword name, "sponsus" means "promise". Like a promise of engagement/of a wedding, not just a regular promise.**

 **Also, has that top-left most continent in Remnant been mentioned/shown yet in RWBY? The one that's shaped like a dragon? Cause that's where Robin went in the intro. How did Robin get there? Magic.**

 **And this chapter is all over the place in both setting and mood. Kinda like the ideas in my head. Starts off in the perspective of a Deathstalker (humor), then to Robin as he becomes a little more cultured in the ways of the Grimm (humor), then to a cafeteria setting with teams RWBY and JNPR (casual-humor), then to Robin being a sassy upstart (serious-humor), then to him doing some magic stuff (casual), then to Pyrrha's POV at the end of JNPR's spar against Robin (serious-casual), and then another glimpse into Robin's past (serious).**

 **Speaking of his past, I promise to get the story back onto its not-so-serious/playful mood in the following chapter.**

 _ **. . .**_

 **By the way, if you haven't played NieR: Automata yet, you're severely missing out. The game came out for Xbox players on June 26th, so every platform has access to it. Do yourself a favor and play the masterpiece of a game.**

 _ **. . .**_

 **On a completely other sidenote, I just realized how easy it would be for me to just write off Salem in this story. Neither Shepherd!Robin nor Salem's true strength has been established in both A Shepherd's Rest and the canon RWBY respectively. And since Shepherd!Robin is a little different from AA!Robin, I could do something like…oh, I don't know, have him tap into Grima's power. It'd be an army of Grimm fighting an army of Risen, and since the Deadlords are a thing, well…let's just say that the tips would not be tipped in Salem's favor, especially if Robin is the acting mind of strategy.**

 **Or maybe this all just me being super biased. Who knows.**

 **Just a thought. Seriously. It's one that popped into my head while writing the beginning of this chapter with the Grimm, and I doubt I'll be doing anything with it.**


	4. First Support

**Guess what. This chapter is uploaded from some 30,000ft/9144meters in the air. Bet no one's done that before.**

 **Jk. I'm sure people have already.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

Pointing fingers at people was considered to be rude in many areas of the world. It was something that Pyrrha's parents told her ever since she was a young girl. Even as she would be the focus of stares and finger points as she won consecutive tournaments as the years went on, she made sure that she herself would not be the one to do such actions.

Said action was something that she nearly did just now, and was something that she would have done were it not for the iron discipline that she had. Sadly, her partner and teammate were not as disciplined.

"Y-Y-Y-Y-You!" Jaune stuttered in utter surprise, pointing his finger into the face of the man standing in front of them.

"Me."

"You-You're that guy!" Nora yelled.

The man raised an amused eyebrow. "As much as I would like to go along with what you're saying, I cannot due to your incredibly vague description."

"You're him!"

"You are not helping your case at all." The man shook his head and looked at Pyrrha and Ren. "Your teammates' words seemed to have failed them. Perhaps the two of you could shed some light on what it is that they are trying to say?"

Pyrrha couldn't help but laugh as she and her team took seats by the bar. The man on the other side of the bar most likely knew what Jaune and Nora were trying to say but was feigning ignorance for humor's sake.

"I believe they're talking about how you were the one that we sparred with the other day," Pyrrha said.

"Ah yes, that did happen, didn't it?" The man nodded. "I must thank you for going through with my selfish request on such a short notice. It has been a while since I last got some practice and I feared that I might have gotten rusty, a fear that happened to be true, unfortunately."

"No no, we should be the ones thanking you!" Pyrrha quickly said. "Your insight on our teamwork was invaluable. I didn't even realize half of the things you pointed out and how easy it was to exploit our team formations."

"Wait wait wait wait!" Jaune frantically waved his hands. "You said you were rusty?!"

"That is indeed what I said. Is something the matter?" Robin asked nonchalantly as if defeating the Invincible Girl, Pyrrha Nikos, while she had the backup of her team was nothing at all.

Jaune's jaw dropped to the floor. "…You not being rusty…that's a terrifying thought…"

"You give me too much credit." He gave a light bow before handing them a menu each. "I am nothing more than a civilian who happens to love coffee."

"A civilian that handled one of Beacon's student teams without trouble?" Ren skeptically asked.

Nora furiously nodded her head. "Yeah! We're even one of the top first-year teams in Beacon! No way you could have just beaten us like that, you magician!"

"Magician?"

The man's brow furrowed and Ren let out a tired sigh. "Forgive my partner. After what a few of our friends said, Nora firmly believes that you're a practitioner of witchcraft."

"Do you mean team RWBY, by any chance - "

"AAAHH!"

Jaune suddenly screamed and pointed at the man once more, startling everyone in the room.

"What's wrong, Jaune?" Pyrrha worriedly asked.

"I just realized something!" Jaune looked like he had an epiphany. "This guy is Robin! The same guy that Ruby and her team were talking about!"

Seconds of complete silence passed as all eyes were on the boy.

"Jaune…" Pyrrha slowly started. "Everyone knew that already."

"Whaaaat!? How come nobody told me that!"

Ren placed his hand on Jaune's shoulder. Whether or not it was out of pity, Pyrrha didn't know. Before she could try and comfort her partner, the door's chime rang as two huntsmen entered the store.

"Shiro, Kiragi!" Robin looked over Pyrrha's shoulder as he greeted the two with a wide smile. "I missed you last week! What happened?"

"Eh, nothing much. Just some Grimm extermination that took longer than expected," Shiro huffed, roughly shaking Robin's hand from across the counter. "Was fed some bad info."

"Somehow, I doubt that's the full story," Robin playfully smirked. "Your grip's feeling a lot weaker than usual. Is there something that you're not telling me?"

Pyrrha's eyes widened slightly as she saw Shiro flex his hand, no doubt with the intent of crushing Robin's fingers. His already large arm enlarged as his muscles rippled, and his knuckles turned white. She could've sworn that she saw a flicker of an electric blue Aura surround Shiro, but the light vanished as quickly as it appeared.

"My grip's feeling weaker, you say?" Shiro flashed a toothy grin at Robin. "How's this for being weak - ow ow ow owowowow!" Shiro quickly pulled back his arm as he flicked his wrist multiple times. "What was that?"

"You have your Aura, I have my own tricks," Robin answered with a shrug. He curled his fingers back and forth. "Maybe next time."

"Tch, cryptic as always," Shiro grumbled, combing his brown hair with his fingers. He then turned his attention to Pyrrha and her team while jerking his thumb at Robin. "Not sure if you four know this, but this guy's a real asshole."

"Is he?" Jaune warily asked.

"Naaahh, Shiro's just mad because he hasn't beaten Robin in arm wrestling yet," Kiragi grinned. "And because I scored more Grimm than he did in our last job."

"That's cause Robin's cheating!" Shiro whined, grabbing onto Robin's arm. "Have you seen this guy? He's like a twig! No way he can beat me in a normal arm wrestle!"

"Right?! He's a cheating, sneaky magician that sneakily uses sneaky magic to get sneaky sneaks!" Nora pointedly said.

"You have a very skewed definition of 'twig'," Jaune mumbled into his menu.

Pyrrha silently agreed with her partner. Robin wasn't close to being a twig at all. While she would never admit it, and while she did have a _slight_ crush on Jaune, she couldn't help but notice the contours in Robin's shirt as he moved around.

"Hey, Seera!" Nora suddenly leaned forward and looked at Shiro.

"It's Shiro."

"Wanna arm wrestle?"

A confident smile formed on Shiro's face.

"I like you already, missy! You're on!"

The two scurried off to an empty table with ecstatic grins plastered on their lips.

"Don't break my table," Robin sternly said as the Shiro and Nora locked hands.

"Ahaha, don't worry so much about that," Kiragi said. "I haven't seen Shiro break anything in two days, which is the longest yet. If he does break a table, he has enough funds to pay it in full."

Veins popped up on the arm wrestling duo's arms as they tried to force the other into submission.

"Doesn't change the fact that he'd be breaking one of my tables. Ebony wood is difficult to come by, and I'd rather not go through the hassle of exporting one from Menagerie because he uses too much strength. Speaking of his strength…" Robin turned to the remaining members of team Juniper and Kiragi. "In a contest of pure strength between Shiro and me, he would win ten times out of ten. I have no doubt that he's physically stronger than me by miles. It's just that he always uses Aura to try and beat me in a flash."

"But wouldn't that make him the victor if he's already stronger than you?" Jaune asked as Kiragi took Nora's empty seat next to Ren. "If he's enhancing his strength with Aura, then…"

"Does it have to do with the "tricks" that you mentioned before?" Ren asked.

"Correct! Very perceptive," Robin praised. "By the way, are you getting the usual?" he asked Kiragi.

"Heh, Shiro isn't going to like that," Kiragi laughed. "And yeah, I'll take the usual. Same for Shiro, when he's done with his contest."

"What he doesn't know won't hurt him," Robin reasoned.

"What's the trick?" Pyrrha curiously asked. The way Robin worded it made it obvious that it wasn't anything to do with Aura, so there was a chance that she could learn it herself. "If you don't mind me asking, that is."

Robin held out his hand. "If you would hand me the menu, I'd be happy to show you."

Having decided what she wanted to order, Pyrrha eagerly handed him her menu. The moment Robin took the menu from Pyrrha's hand, there was a brief discoloration on the dark purple and gold sheet, and it was given back to Pyrrha only a second later. Noticing her look of confusion, Robin pointed at the menu.

"Try folding it in half," he said.

While a little hesitant, Pyrrha folded the menu. At least, she tried to. No matter how much pressure she applied, the laminated menu would only bend slightly and not go past a ninety-degree angle.

"Are you trying?" Jaune asked her.

"Yes, I'm trying as hard as I can! I'm even using Aura!" Pyrrha said. "How is this possible?"

"Put simply, I reinforced the durability of the menu's structure. It's the same menu, just stronger," Robin said.

Pyrrha's eyes widened in shock and awe.

"That's amazing! This could revolutionize how we can defend ourselves against the Grimm!" she exclaimed, and while Jaune, Ren, and Kiragi nodded in agreement, Robin shook his head. "It can't?"

"The reinforcement only lasts as long as I'm constantly strengthening it by my hand. Without a constant influx of ma-Aura, the reinforcement will vanish after a short time," Robin said.

As if to prove his point, the reinforcement on the menu vanished at that very moment while Pyrrha was still applying pressure, and the menu crumpled in her hand.

"That same reinforcement is what I do to myself whenever Shiro decides to use Aura during our arm wrestling matches," Robin explained as he handed Kiragi a cup of fragrant tea. "He's not the best at Aura Manipulation while I am quite experienced in things of that nature, so I hold the advantage over him in that regard."

"Hehe, you're not wrong about that! Shiro is really bad at Aura Manipulation! Like, _really_ bad," Kiragi agreed, placing a few Lien on the table. "But, that's why I'm his partner, right? He's the immovable wall with his sword, and I'm his eyes with my Fujin Yumi!" He tapped the stringless bow on his back to emphasize his point.

"You work in a team of two and not four?" Pyrrha asked.

Kiragi waved his hand in a "no" gesture as he drank some of his tea.

"Our teammates, Velouria and Selkie, are doing their own thing in the city. The four of us make Team Skies, with the name to letter coordination going from Shiro, me, Velouria, and then Selkie," Kiragi counted off on his fingers as he placed his cup onto the table. "We're third-year students at Beacon, by the way. It's nice to meet you!"

"Pyrrha Nikos of Team Juniper, spelled J-N-P-R," Pyrrha politely introduced herself. "These are my teammates - "

 _*C-C-CRACK*_

There was the sound of splintering wood and the dull _thud_ of bodies hitting the floor. Pyrrha didn't even have to turn around to figure out what happened, especially when she saw Robin cross his arms, close his eyes, and inhale deeply through his nose. He reminded Pyrrha of a disappointed father.

"What did I say about breaking my table?"

 _ **. . .**_

It was two hours until midnight when Robin closed the door to A Shepherd's Rest. It was at this time that the cafe would close every night, and tonight was no different.

Turning the lock on the door, Robin also applied three wards onto it. The first was a simple vicinity alert spell, which would alert him should anyone stand right outside his door. The second delved into Spacialcraft, and would divert any harsh impact away from both the door and windows of the store. The last was a simple spell to prevent people from picking his lock. That one he was confident in. Gaius was the test dummy for it, after all.

"Right then." Robin twirled a finger in the air, generating a ball of wind. "Time to start cleaning up the store."

The ball of wind gradually grew and started to fill the room. It was strong enough to pick up any loose pieces of garbage, torn bits of napkins, scrap papers, and any accumulated dust throughout the store, but weak enough that nothing of importance would get knocked over. There was even a Beacon Student ID that was mixed in along the swept up garbage. He'd have to send that to Ozpin tomorrow morning.

Robin held out his hand in front of him and the wind's area of control started to shrink. It grew smaller and smaller until it was roughly the size of his palm, containing all the picked up trash in it, and Robin dropped it into a garbage bin.

Once that was done, Robin weaved mana in his fingers again. When he was finished, he cast his spell - rather, the _hex_ across the store, and any scratches or smears that once marred the store earlier in the day started to vanish.

"Thanks again, Henry," Robin said to himself.

The spell he just cast was a simple hex that Henry once used to temporarily reverse time for a stack of plates that were broken by a stumbling Sumia. With their time reversed, the plates were usable, even if was only for a single day.

What Robin found out, however, was that if the same hex was used once again near the end of the time of the first hex, you would push the time back by another twenty-four hours. And since Robin cast his spell the day before his shop opened and continued to cast the hex every night, the store would always be in near perfect condition.

Perfectly clean store after a full day of work? Took less than five minutes.

He was about to turn off the light when the first ward he set up at the door went off, sending a pulse of weak electricity in his head. There was a light knock on the door not even a moment later.

"Who could it at this time?"

 _ **. . .**_

Weiss was not having a good day. Not one bit.

For starters, she woke up late for class again. Why did she wake up late? Because her clay-brained partner and her sister decided to stay up until four in the morning playing that new Grimm Hunter game that they got, shouting and screaming the entire time.

Every time Weiss thought she got used to their…excitement, they'd somehow manage to yell even louder than before. Every time that Weiss thought they were done playing, they managed to start up another "quest", or "mission", or "hunt", or whatever the terminology was called. She must've heard the words, "Just one more," nearly two dozen times in the span of a couple hours.

When the sisters finally fell asleep, it was only because they literally could not keep their eyes open and slumped forward with the controllers still in their hands. As much as Weiss and Blake wanted to leave Ruby and Yang where they were, they ended up shutting off the game console (after Blake saved their data) and carried the sisters to their respective beds.

After arriving over half an hour late to class, Weiss and her team all given detention after their standard lessons. Yang and Blake had to follow Professor Goodwitch around and help her with some papers, Ruby had to assist Doctor Oobleck in whatever it was that the doctor was doing, and Weiss was given the punishment of sitting through an entire lesson from Professor Port, which was basically her listening to the large man's boasts for three hours.

Three. Ungodly. Hours.

Weiss liked to think that she was patient. Her upbringing in the Schnee family caused her to go through countless public appearances; appearances where she had to put on that sickening fake smile and repeat the same answers time and time again to reporters and the like.

None of that compared to Professor Port when he rambled on about his past Grimm hunts. Of how many times he was called a hero. Of how many times he slew an Elder Grimm all by his lonesome. Of how many times he made a "dashing appearance" just in time to save a town or village. Or how many duels he won against other huntsmen with his "manliness" and "brawn".

Once her team was done with their respective punishments, they headed to the combat arenas to practice their teamwork and coordination. Weiss had no qualms with this idea. Practicing together would only help their team in the future, and huntsmen teams were known to stay together even long after graduation. If Weiss was going to be with Ruby, Yang, and Blake for the next four years at Beacon and an untold amount of time after, then it was never too early to start working together.

However, what was supposed to be a training and practice session quickly became a playground. Despite being the one to bring up the idea, Ruby had not been focused for a single second the entire time. She insisted on coming up with attack names and flashy moves without bothering to work on her own skills and Semblance. Whenever Weiss would try to get her leader to focus, Yang would butt in, saying how they should have fun.

That was another two hours of being completely unproductive.

When that was finally all over, the cafeteria had already closed for the day to clean and prepare for tomorrow's meals. Since she and the rest of her team were more than hungry, Yang offered to take them all out to a restaurant in Vale. What Yang _didn't_ tell them was that it was a fusion of both a restaurant and a bar. The blonde's reasoning for bringing them there was because she knew the owner and because she would get a discount.

Weiss decided to give Yang the benefit of the doubt, despite all that occurred previously in the day. She even did her best to ignore all the catcalls and suggestive looks that she received from the brutes in the bar.

Things were going quite well until one of the men in the bar tried to inappropriately touch her and Weiss batted the man's hand aside. The man then moved onto Ruby, which sent Yang into a flying rage. One thing led to another until they were kicked out of the restaurant, and then Yang had the audacity to place the blame on Weiss for knocking the man's hand away in the first place.

That was when Weiss decided that enough was enough and stormed off. She didn't realize how far and long she walked, but by the time she managed to cool off, the sun had long set. She pulled out her Scroll to check the time.

"Oh no."

Weiss gasped upon seeing the numbers "21:54" on her screen. The last Bullhead from Vale to Beacon was in six minutes, and the terminals were at least a twenty-minute walk away from where she was. There's no way that she'd be able to make it to the Bullheads in time, even if she used her Glyphs.

So now, she was stranded in Vale with nothing but her Scroll that had over a dozen messages and missed calls from her team, asking for her whereabouts. A few of the streetlamps were out of order, while another few were consistently flickering. Shadows seemed to jump out at her from the corners of her eyes and a chilly breeze blew through the street.

Was she scared? Of course not. Weiss Schnee, heiress to the powerful Schnee Dust Company, scared of nighttime and the darkness that accompanied it? Laughable.

Weiss was only unnerved. Yes, that was it. Merely unnerved for being in an unknown, albeit familiar, area and situation.

Hugging her body to retain as much heat as possible, Weiss continued to walk through Vale. Her wallet was back in her dorms but she still had her Scroll. She could simply find a hotel and rent a room for the night. A Schnee would _not_ spend the night out in the open.

And then her Scroll's battery died.

Weiss let out a string of colorful words that were unbecoming of a Schnee. Perhaps Yang was influencing her more than she thought.

Was she scared now? Don't be absurd. If she was only unnerved before, now she was just disheartened. Nothing more than that. In fact, being disheartened was absolutely silly. Even without a proper form of identification, the hotel staff could simply call the SDC for her credentials and she could pay for her room in that manner. There was no need to lose heart over such a tiny drawback.

The shadows started to move again and this time, Weiss was _not_ imagining the large shapes of humans stalking her. Nor was she imagining their gruff voices that seemed to whisper in her ear.

Perhaps there was a time and place for fear after all.

Hastening her steps in her definitely-not-panicked state, Weiss made her way over to a store across the street that still had its lights on. There was a person moving back and forth, so with luck, Weiss could convince the person inside to shelter her for a short while. She knocked on the door twice while looking up and down the street. The people that seemed to be following her was nowhere in sight, but as the saying goes, better safe than sorry. She was about to knock once more when the door opened.

"My apologies for bothering you at this hour, but might I ask a favor of - " Weiss' words got caught in her throat when she saw who opened the door. She looked up at the sign above the door, saw the familiar font and words, looked back at the man in front of her, and practically yelled, "It's you!"

"Twice in one day? Don't you know that it's quite rude to point at someone, Miss Schnee? And if I may be so brash, your hanging mouth does not suit you."

Weiss promptly closed her mouth that she didn't she had open and quickly brought her arm down. She felt her cheeks heat up and Robin let out a light-hearted chuckle.

"Would you like to come inside? I fear that you may catch a cold at this rate, especially since you are dressed quite lightly," Robin offered as he stepped to the side, giving her enough room to enter A Shepherd's Rest.

Not wanting to turn down the offer that she was originally planning on asking for, Weiss stepped into the store.

"While normally, I'd tell you to take a seat anywhere you'd like, but I'm afraid that is not the case this time around," Robin said, closing the door behind her. "The last time I had the store's lights on late into the night, Vale's night patrol came by, wondering if I was having any…difficulties. It took nearly an hour for them to finally understand that I was merely taking my time in cleaning up the store and was not under any threat."

Weiss gave him a deadpan stare. "...You're kidding, right?"

Robin merely returned a smile that neither confirmed nor denied her question, making her further wonder whether or not the man was being serious about the VPD holding up after hours.

"You seem to have closed rather quickly tonight," she finally said, changing the subject.

 _'Not to mention he did an amazing job at that. This place is spotless,'_ Weiss thought to herself. _'He closes at ten yet he managed to clean this place up so neatly within minutes. How did he do it?'_

"I have my ways," Robin said with a shrug as if he read her mind.

Weiss raised a skeptic eyebrow when he held out his palm. That skepticism was turned into surprise and wonder when he created a flame in his hand. The flame then froze into a mesmerizing ice sculpture, which proceeded to shatter into countless crystalline shards. The shards then started to float momentarily in the air before dancing around Robin's hands before finally dispersing into motes of light.

Weiss was no fool. As fascinating Robin's display was, she knew that he was telling her how he managed to clean the store so easily. The flame was a representation of the customers and the ice shards were a representation of the mess left behind. The only thing that Weiss didn't understand was how exactly he managed to create, freeze, and then shatter the flame. Perhaps her original assumption of his Semblance being along the lines of Imagery Projection was wrong?

"What exactly is my Semblance? How did I manipulate the elements? How does my control of the elements tie in with my other ability?"

Weiss nodded. "Indeed, how did you… Wait, what?"

"Your face reveals quite a lot, Miss Schnee, and I would like to think that I'm quite observant," Robin playfully smirked. "Come. We can talk about whatever it is that you wished to speak with me about further inside."

Robin led her through the door that was behind the counter. She walked through the door into a hallway that had an open fridge and freezer on one side that was partially full of milk, cream, ice cream, and a few other necessities in a coffee shop. The other side of the wall was a shelf that was packed with a myriad of coffee beans.

At the end of the hall was a door that Robin walked through. When Weiss entered, her eyes widened as she entered a spacious lounge.

"Welcome to my humble abode," Robin said with a smile as he opened another door near one of the room's corners. "Feel free to take a seat on the couch. I'll brew a pot of tea."

Weiss continued to look around the room after the door closed behind Robin. Rows upon rows of books adorned the silvery-grey walls, putting Blake's collection in the dorm to shame. A grand piano sat at the far end of the room by the windows, which had a perfect view of Beacon, which was strange. When entering A Shepherd's Rest, Beacon was to her left. The door to the store and the hallway that led to the lounge ran parallel to each other, so for Beacon to be in view of the windows was impossible.

In fact, it was impossible for the interior of A Shepherd's Rest to be this large to hold the store, hallway, lounge, and another room all into one small building! Nothing added up!

Her train of thought was derailed when Robin entered the room with a kettle and two cups in hand.

"Do you not wish to sit?" Robin asked.

"R-Right…"

Weiss took a seat on the leather couch near the center of the room, surprised at how pleasant it felt. Robin sat down on a strange, spherical shaped chair across from her and set the tea down on a wooden table between them.

"Is something the matter?" Robin raised a curious eyebrow as he poured the tea into the cups. "You keep looking around the room."

"N-No, nothing's wrong. It's just that I wasn't expecting the inside of A Shepherd's Rest to be so…spacious," she admitted.

"The shop does seem quite small from the outside, does it not?" Robin nodded in understanding as he handed her one of the cups. "In all honesty, it really shouldn't be this big. I simply did some remodeling to suit my personal needs and tastes."

Although his answer didn't really explain much, Weiss decided to drop the subject. She knew when someone was avoiding a topic all too well. She had years of experience, after all.

"Now then." Robin placed his cup onto the table after taking a sip. "How did you end up in Vale so late into the night? I find it hard to believe that you would be the type to just take a random stroll at this hour."

Weiss took in a deep breath. She already talked to Professor Port and Headmaster Ozpin about this, so she was a little hesitant to explain this a third time, especially after both teachers gave her the same advice.

Taking another moment to steel her nerves, she began to speak. She told him about her opinion of Ruby being appointed leader, of how she has experience in leadership, of how childish and unprofessional her teammates were, and how frustrated she felt at Beacon.

The longer the talked, the easier she found it to tell Robin her problems. She didn't know why that was. She barely knew the man outside of him being a polite shop owner, yet here she was, telling him her frustrations and annoyances, using him as an outlet. She jumped from topic to topic, backtracking half a dozen times, and lost track of how much time passed by.

Throughout all this, Robin didn't say a single word. He just sat there as he listened to her, and it wasn't until after she took in a deep breath after her spiel that he asked her a simple question.

"Tell me, what is your definition of…scratch that. What qualities do you think a leader should have?"

"Level-headedness, the ability to make solid decisions in difficult situations, and confidence," Weiss immediately answered.

Robin nodded. "While you are not wrong with those answers, you are not completely correct either, for there is no true answer. It is an open-ended question with open-ended answers."

"Then what do you think are the qualities of a leader?" Weiss inquired. The man seemed knowledgeable enough, so unless this was all some ruse or bluff, surely he'd have a better insight into his own question than her.

Instead of answering, Robin laced his fingers together in what she assumed to be deep thought.

"…May I tell you a short story from my past?"

Weiss was slightly taken aback. That was not the reply she was expecting, and she shuddered as she recalled her detention from earlier in the day.

"I assure you, I am nothing like Professor Port," he added, once again making it seem like he read her mind.

Weiss gave him the 'go-ahead' almost instantly.

"In the past, long before A Shepherd's Rest came to be, I was part of a militia group." Robin leaned back in his chair as Weiss took a sip of her tea, letting the herbs soothe her nerves. She didn't miss the faraway look in his eyes as he spoke. "Now, in this militia was a certain man; had a heart of gold, but he was also impulsive, childish, never thinking about his next step, and always getting neck deep into trouble.

"I, on the other hand, was essentially the opposite. I would always think ahead, keeping my cool no matter the situation, and had multiple backup plans for when my original plans would go awry. And they would almost _always_ go awry. Whenever something unexpected would happen, such as an enemy ambush, I would devise a plan within moments for our best chances of survival."

"You were the brain while he was the brawn," Weiss surmised.

"In layman's terms, yes," Robin nodded. "I was the tactician of the militia, but not their leader. That position went to my friend that I spoke of just now."

Weiss nearly spat out her tea in shock.

"What?!"

"Curious, is it not? Why would an impulsive and childish man be given the role of the militia's leader instead of one that was always calm and calculated?"

That very question was the sole thought in Weiss' mind. It was foolish, giving the position of leadership to a man like that. It was the same thing that happened with her and Ruby. The young girl was inexperienced, foolhardy, and a child in every definition. Her teammates and professors told her to give her a chance, and she did - multiple times, in fact - but her patience was wearing dangerously thin with her partner.

And now she found someone who was once in her shoes, someone who understood her dilemma.

"To be completely honest…"

Weiss leaned forward with interest, more than eager to know what Robin did in her situation.

"…I didn't care."

She fell out of her seat, much to Robin's confusion and amusement.

"I beg your pardon?" she choked out.

"I didn't care," Robin repeated. "In fact, no one in the militia seemed to care about him being the leader and me simply being the tactician. The reason why was because he had something that I didn't, something that made him a natural leader that people would follow. Do you know what it was?"

Weiss shook her head at his possibly rhetorical question.

"It was charisma," Robin said. "He was the kind of person that would naturally draw followers and friends to his side. He had the heart to accept people as they were, no matter their upbringing or nature, and for that, people would follow him. Despite his upbringing and position, he would always listen to and take the words of his comrades into consideration. In fact, I was made his second-in-command, despite the fact that he found me in the middle of the field with nothing to my name while wearing the garbs of a faction that wanted his family dead. Later down the line, he became my best friend and I his."

"Why are you telling me this?" Weiss asked. "I don't see what this has to do with me."

"You're missing the picture here, Miss Sch- "

"Weiss," she interrupted. "Just call me Weiss. None of this "Miss" business."

A small smile rose on Robin's face. "Very well, Weiss. My point is that what I said has almost everything to do with you. You are to Miss Rose as I was to my friend. Our partner and leader respectively were not cut out to be leaders. On paper, at least. In actuality, both make great leaders - _made_ a fantastic leader." He paused for a second. "Tell me, Weiss, why do you follow Miss Rose? Aside from the fact that she was appointed as the leader and you weren't, of course."

"I… Well…"

"Allow me to rephrase that; why do you think that your teammates, Miss Xiao Long and Miss Blake, follow Miss Rose as their leader? On paper, the two of them have the skills and talent to become great leaders themselves, yet your headmaster made the youngest and the most inexperienced member of your team as the leader. Same with Team Juniper. Why do you think they follow Mister Jaune Arc when there's a talented individual such as Miss Pyrrha Nikos in the same team?"

"I…I don't know…" Weiss was at a complete loss. "I never thought about it from that angle. Why did you follow your friend?"

"Now you're asking the right questions," Robin smiled. "Unfortunately, the reason why I followed him will not be the same reason as to why Miss Xiao Long and Miss Blake follow Miss Rose, nor will it be the reason why the members of Team Juniper follow Mister Arc."

"So, you won't tell me your reason?" Weiss guessed.

"I never said that, Weiss. Though, I will give you credit for thinking ahead and predicting what I might have said. You've a tactician's mind, which brings me to my next point." Robin flicked his hand and a leather book appeared in his hand. "As I've said, my friend was not the most level-headed person. Due to this, I was the one that would plan things out for him, not only as his tactician, but as his friend. Alone, we were simply two men, but together, we were a nigh unstoppable force. And with someone like you as the leading mind in your team, I have no doubt that you can do the same."

Robin gently placed his book onto the table and pushed it towards Weiss. She picked up the book and read the title that was written by hand.

" _'A Shepherd's Guide to Basic Strategies'_?" Weiss read aloud. "I already have a copy of this at home along with the next two editions detailing intermediate and advanced strategies respectively. I've memorized every single battle formation that could be used against the Grimm."

"Have you now?" Robin gave Weiss a brilliant smile. "I'm glad to know that I have such a loyal follower."

"Of course! The tactics used in your books are - " Weiss suddenly froze mid-sentence. Her eyes then started to widen ever so slowly as Robin's words started to register in her head. "W-W-Wait… Y-You mean to tell me…that you're _him_? _You're_ Reflet Alius?"

"That would be my pen name, yes," Robin replied.

"Reflet Alius… As in the author that published Remnant's best selling series of strategy guides?"

"I published a second series that I'm still working on, but yes." Robin pointed at the book in her hand. "That's the same book that I carried with me during my travels, by the way."

Her eyes widened further as she held the old leather book in her hands with near reverence. "So, this is…" Her voice trailed off as her words died in her throat.

"The original version of the tactics guide in which the first editions were based off of," Robin calmly replied. "It's a little messy since I was constantly making additional notes and scratching off my previous ideas that either didn't work or were improved upon. Since you already have copies at home, you need not keep my version if you - "

"No!"

Weiss clutched the book close to her chest. A second later, heat rose to her cheeks as she thought about what she just did.

"I-I mean…that is to say…"

She felt her cheeks redden even further when Robin laughed. It was embarrassing, yes, but also soothing and comforting. His laugh was full of warmth and joviality that she couldn't help but laugh a little herself.

"You may keep that if you wish," Robin said as the laughter faded away. "I've no use for it anymore aside from sentimental value, and I'm sure that it'll be better used in your hands than collecting dust on my shelf."

"Thank you." Weiss gratefully lowered her head. "You have no idea how much this means to me. To be able to simply meet _the_ Reflet was something of my dreams. I never thought I'd get a chance to get your autograph, much less be gifted one of your original works. It's more than I ever could have…"

Weiss bit her tongue as she realized she was doing something that she thought she'd never do. Fangirl. She felt disgusted with herself.

There was a light-hearted chuckle from Robin. "Never did I ever think that I would have such an impact on someone. Truly." Robin picked up the tea set and stood to his feet. "Feel free to look through the book if you wish. I'm going to put this away and will return shortly."

Weiss didn't need to be told twice. The moment Robin left the room, she flipped over to the first page and was surprised at the number of lines that were crossed out. Even the revisions had lines running through them as well. She quickly realized that only the final revisions were the ones that made it into the published versions of the book in her hands.

"A Shepherd's Rest, _'A Shepherd's Guide...'_ " Weiss shook her head. "It should've been so obvious."

A yawn managed to escape. She flipped the page.

She heard the water run. She flipped the page.

A few _clinks_ were heard as Robin washed the tea set. She flipped the page and yawned.

The water turned off. She flipped the page.

There were another few _clinks_ from the kitchen, most likely from Robin putting the set away. She let out a yawn.

 _ **. . .**_

Weiss slowly woke up and saw the familiar underside of a hanging bed. There was the rustling of bed sheets as Yang pushed herself out of her bed with a contagious yawn. The bed above her swayed a little as a petite figure ungraciously dropped down in front of her.

A shock suddenly coursed through Weiss' body and she bolted upright in her bed. She immediately regretted her movement as she smashed her forehead against the bottom of Ruby's bed, leaving her sputtering in pain under her breath.

"Oh hey, it's Weiss!" Yang half-yawned, half-said. "When'd you get back?"

"Rather, _how_ did you get back?" Blake questioned. "The Bullheads stop running at ten and we were up until midnight waiting for you."

Both of those questions were what Weiss wanted to know. The last thing she remembered was talking with Robin late into the night, finding out that he and Reflet Alius were one and the same, and that she was reading through the first few pages of his tactics book. A book that was currently still in her hands.

 _'So that wasn't a dream…'_ Weiss thought to herself.

A piece of paper slipped out beneath the cover of the book.

 _'Strange. It wasn't there last night when I was reading through it. There's no way I would've missed something right beneath the cover.'_

Weiss picked up the paper and unfolded it. Written on the paper, in the same penmanship as the the writing in the tactics book, was a small message that read…

" _'_ _You'll find the answer to last night's question - my reason, in this book. You're a bright, young woman, Weiss. I know you will.'_ " Yang read over Weiss' shoulder. "Oooohhh, what were you doing out so late last night, Weissy~? You hiding something from us?"

"N-Nothing of the sort that you're implying, you brute!"

Her fervent denial only made Yang grin wider. A chill ran down Weiss's spine as she saw a malicious glint in her teammate's eyes. She wondered why she didn't just say that she was talking with Robin for a while and unfortunately for her, she never got the chance to figure it out as Yang literally pounced on her, despite her dislike of being touched.

 _ **. . .**_

"Here are your drinks, Angeal, Genesis. Is there anything else that you would like?"

A man with sleek, spiked black hair shook his head. "That will be all. Thank you again, Robin."

Robin picked up his tray and walked back behind the counter. With no more orders to make at the moment, he picked up a wet cloth and started to wipe down his countertop when his Scroll vibrated in his pocket. He took it out and and opened the message he received. What appeared on his screen was two video recordings, both of which had blank thumbnails.

"I swear, Ozpin, if this is something stupid, I am going to force feed you stale coffee," Robin vowed as he played the videos.

The recording was of a first year team at Beacon training in a combat arena. He recognized them as Team JNPR, and he also recognized the robed figure that dropped down to help them with their spar. The recording ended after the him in the video defeated every member of the team.

The second was him carrying a white haired girl through Beacon's halls at the dead of night. The video-Robin suddenly vanished in front of one of the dorm rooms before reappearing a few seconds later. Video-Robin started to walk down the empty halls before vanishing once more.

His Scroll vibrated again as he received a new message from the headmaster.

 _"You seem like the type that would excel as a professor and a tutor. Are you sure you don't want to take up a teaching position at Beacon? You're already doing some of the work."_

Robin merely sent back a two-lettered reply before putting his Scroll away.

"What kind of headmaster stalks their students?" Robin murmured. "Creepy bastard."

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Deviating from canon a bit here, but hey, there really isn't a sense of time in RWBY. I'm pretty sure that a bunch of things would've happened in between some of the episodes of the first couple of seasons. For example, Ren says, "She's been having this recurring dream for nearly a month now." That's one month within the span of a few episodes. Unless Nora's been having that very dream since before initiation.**

 **And no, the tactics book that Robin gave to Weiss is** _ **not**_ **the same one as he gives Morgan in Awakening. One is about killing Grimm, the other is about killing humans during wars/skirmishes.**

 **The two main reasons why I wrote this chapter was because I find it hard to believe that Weiss would just suddenly decide to give Ruby a chance, even if she talked to Port. Changes like that in a person don't happen overnight; it takes time.  
The second reason was because the idea popped into my head almost right after finishing the previous chapter. Who knows, maybe every member of Team RWBY (and maybe JNPR) will have their one-on-one talk with Robin. Given his character, he could relate to a lot of them.**

 **Btw, "Alius" is "another" in Latin.  
**


	5. Rule of Three

**I have nothing of importance to say here. I'm just writing this A.N. to continue the little trend I have of a short note in the beginning.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

"It arrived! It finally arrived! It came last minute at night, but it finally arrived!"

Weiss looked up from her book as Ruby barged into their room with a package in held high above her head (which wasn't much, given her short stature). It looked comical really; the package was bigger than the size of her head and she seemed to have a bit of trouble keeping it balanced.

"What did you order?" Yang curiously asked.

Instead of answering, Ruby set down the package onto the floor and started tearing into it with her hands. Bits of cardboard and tape flew everywhere as she attacked the box with fervor until she pulled out a…what in the world was that?

"Look!"

Weiss was definitely looking alright. The item in Ruby's hand was a plushie of a cartoon looking head. Visually, it reminded her of a certain pink game character that could suck up nearly anything into its mouth.

"That face looks _really_ familiar…" Yang muttered under her breath but was just loud enough for the rest of her team to hear. "Where's she from, Rubes?"

The ecstatic grin on Ruby's face didn't leave as she pulled out her scroll. She gave it a few taps and loaded up one of the many mobile games that she downloaded and pulled up a character card of a pink-haired swordswoman in blue and red clothing.

"It's Musashi!" Ruby beamed, holding her phone and the plushie side by side.

"…So it is…" Weiss slowly nodded.

The plushie had the same face as this "Musashi" in Ruby's game, only it was much more…what would be the word…"chibi'd", was it? "Chibi-fied"? Weiss could've sworn that she heard that term tossed around here and there by the two sisters in the team, and if her memory wasn't failing her, which it rarely did, then she'd be correct.

"It's so soft!" Ruby squealed in delight as she hugged the Musashi plushie. "It's like a feathery marshmallow!"

"I'm sure," Weiss deadpanned and went back to her book.

"Jeez, could you be any colder?" Yang scoffed. "You're being more of a Blake than Blake is herself, and that's saying something."

Both girls in question glared at Yang from behind their respective books.

"See! You even match her stare!" Yang exasperatedly said. Then her brow furrowed as she peered at the book in Weiss' hands. "Isn't that from your secret admirer? You've been reading that thing the past two days! What's it about anyway? The cover looks like it's falling apart."

Weiss let out a tired sigh. "If you must know, this is a tactics book written by _the_ Reflet Alius, publisher of the _'A Shepherd's Guide to Strategy'_ books."

At the mention of Robin's pen name, Blake's bow twitched from both surprise and interest, but Weiss was too focused on glaring at Yang to notice the minute movement.

"And in case you didn't know, Alius' strategies against the Grimm are used all throughout Remnant and is widely considered to be the best due to their effectiveness and efficiency," Weiss continued. "Any Huntsman or Huntress worth their salt would have read at least one of his books. This book here…" Weiss lifted the book in her hand. "…is the very book he carried and wrote in during his travels, and as such, it is full of incredible knowledge."

"If it's such a famous book, then shouldn't you have already read it by now?" Yang asked with equal disinterest and curiosity in her voice, if that was even possible. On the other hand, Ruby was already out of the conversation, squeezing her new plushie like no tomorrow.

"I've read the published editions more times than I can count," Weiss affirmed. "However, since this is the book that he carried with him, his edits are quite clear in this and I can better understand his thought process for devising his strategies."

"Knowledge is power, they say," Blake said.

"That is indeed correct," Weiss agreed, nodding towards Blake. "However, as I've only just learned recently, _'knowledge is only power when applied properly. Any fool can hold knowledge and not use it, but only the brighter individuals will know when and where to apply said knowledge.'_ "

"Interesting. Is that from the book?"

"Yes."

"…Mind if I read it some time?"

Weiss was slightly taken aback. "I didn't take you as someone that was keen on strategy. Why the sudden interest?"

"It's not the strategy book that I'm interested in, per se. It's the author."

"Reflet Alius?"

Blake nodded and walked over to her "small" collection of books in her corner of the room. After sifting through one half of her collection, she pulled out two books that were similar in make. One was tan in color and only had a twisted black crown on the cover with the words _"The War of Sand"_ written near the top. The second book had a red cover and had a wolf's head on it. At first, Weiss thought it to be the symbol of the White Fang, but the wolf on the cover did not look as menacing and was missing the three claw marks behind the head - the staples of the White Fang. Just like the first book, this book had a subtext near the top that read _"The Red Legion"_.

"He's the author of the _'Divine and Fell'_ series, though there are only two editions for now," Blake explained, opening the second book to a bookmarked page roughly a third way's in.

 _"I published a second series that I'm still working on…"_

Robin's words from the previous night echoed within her head, though she wasn't expecting Blake to be familiar with Alius' works. On a second thought, it should be expected. Blake loves to read, so it shouldn't come as a surprise.

"How about we exchange books sometime? When we're both finished reading them, that is," Weiss offered, finally finding some common ground with her reclusive teammate. Speaking of teammates, Yang was now lost in the conversation and managed to snatch Musashi away from Ruby.

"I'd like that," Blake warmly smiled, paying no heed to Yang and Ruby's yells.

"Do you mind if I ask what the series is about?" Weiss asked, tilting her body backward to avoid a flying Musashi.

"It follows the story of an amnesiac tactician, Kris, who was found in the middle of a field and gets pulled into a war," Blake said, picking up _'The War of Sand'_. The small motion of her bending her body to pick up the book inadvertently made her dodge Musashi as it flew across the room once more. "It sounds like a serious story, and it is at times, but Alius was able to incorporate humor into it as well. For example, there's this one bit where Kris and his friend go hunting for a bear, and…"

 _ **. . .**_

"…there was this rock. This single, accursed rock that was using the shadows of the night to conceal itself under the trees. So cleverly was this rock hidden within the darkness that I unable to see it, which of course, caused me to trip, and the sword that I was carrying flew out of my hand when I tried to help my friend."

"Gahahaha! You dumbass!" Qrow cackled while precariously tilting his chair backward. "How'd you screw up so badly at a time like that!?"

"No memory, remember?" Robin tapped the side of his head with a finger with a wide grin on his face. "My sword skills were nothing more than a kid flailing about whilst throwing a tantrum. Anyway, it gets even better. Before that though…" Robin grabbed the whiskey bottle and raised it in the air. "…Another?"

"It's like you don't know who I am," Qrow said, sliding his shot glass across the table.

"Indeed. Just keep that beer on the coaster. I don't want my tables to get ruined," Robin smirked, pointing at the beer glass that was on the wood. "What say you two?" He looked over to his right. "Another glass of wine for Professor Goodwitch, perhaps?"

The blonde waved her hand in front of her. "I really shouldn't."

"Are you sure? It's a Saturday night, meaning that there aren't any classes tomorrow. You even said that you did all of your weekend's worth of work already," Robin pressed on, pulling out an aged bottle from the air. "Just one night to relieve at least a tiny bit of that built of stress. I know firsthand how difficult it can be to watch over students."

"…"

Robin eagerly watched as the professor weighed her options in her head. He most definitely didn't swirl the bottle in his hands ever so slightly to draw her gaze.

"…Alright, but on one condition," Goodwitch narrowed her eyes and pointed a sluggish finger at Robin. "Unless I'm on Beacon grounds working, call me by my name."

"As you wish, Glynda," Robin said with a seated bow.

"Damn, I'm seriously impressed," Qrow whistled as Robin refilled Glynda's wine cup. "You've managed to one, bring the stuck up witch out of Beacon, two, get her to drink, and three, get you to call her by her first name, all in a single night. I haven't been able to do any of that; never thought it was possible, never got permission for the third."

"Maybe it's because you lack finesse," Robin smirked.

"Hey!"

Ozpin chuckled as he took a gulp from his cup, savoring the blend of coffee and alcohol. "Robin is not wrong in saying that."

"Don't take his side, Oz," Qrow grumbled, downing his newly poured shot in a second. "Robin just worked three miracles in like…two hours? Seriously, the hell is with that?"

"Stop being a baby and drink, you lout," Glynda glowered. After swirling her glass for a second, she took in a deep gulp.

"What do you think I've been doing for the past couple decades, you hag? And you can't say crap since you're already drunk!"

"Am not!"

The wine glass was slammed down onto the table. Even in her definitely-not-intoxicated state, Glynda managed to surround her glass with Aura to prevent it from shattering.

As Qrow and Glynda continued their verbal exchange, Robin looked over at Ozpin.

"Pity that Bart and Peter weren't able to join us tonight," he said. "I was looking forward to hearing Peter's tales in earnest. I am told that he is quite the extravagant storyteller."

"Contrary to popular belief, Peter is quite tame when telling a story," Ozpin said with a slight shake of his head. "Of course, he will exaggerate some events like any good speaker, but it is only when teaching that he will go that extra mile to see which students pay attention and which students don't. Every word and detail that he says may sound like nothing more than him inflating his own ego, but he is actually revealing the weaknesses of the Grimm."

Robin nodded in understanding as the profile of a teal haired archer flashed through his mind.

"Speaking of teaching…"

"No."

Ozpin let out a sigh and picked up his glass. "It was worth a try."

 _ **. . .**_

A few hours later, a _very_ drunk Qrow staggered out of A Shepherd's Rest.

"I suppose I'll have to keep an eye on him," Glynda exasperatedly said, rising from her seat. "Thank you for tonight, Robin."

"You're very much welcome to come by anytime, Glynda," Robin smiled. "Though I was certain that you were at least tipsy earlier."

"Acting." The briefest of smirks appeared on Glynda face. "In any case, I will be off now to make sure that the brute does not tarnish the reputation of Huntsmen." She then looked at Ozpin with an expectant gaze.

"I'll return to Beacon shortly. There is something that I wish to discuss with our host," the headmaster explained.

With a final nod, Glynda briskly walked out of the shop.

"I suppose that this isn't another invitation to be a teacher at Beacon?" Robin asked. Such a topic wouldn't have to be said behind the others' backs.

"Not this time," Ozpin answered, confirming Robin's growing suspicion. "Though the position is always open, should you want it."

A pointed glare was Robin's response, much to Ozpin's amusement. Reaching forward and grabbing the recently poured glass of scotch, courtesy of Robin, he asked, "How far have you traveled?"

"I'm gonna need a time period for this, Oz. Before-slash-after I met Qrow? Before-after the Amber incident?"

"Before opening up A Shepherd's Rest."

"That a bit of a lengthy time period."

Ozpin continued to give Robin a leveled stare.

"To answer your question, I've been practically everywhere, including the Dark Zone within the span of over a decade and a half," Robin answered.

"I see. And during your travels, have you ever heard of someone named 'Summer Rose'?"

"Only once." Robin leaned back in his chair and idly channeled lightning to dance around his fingertips. "Just about…six years ago, give or take. I know that it was the eighth time getting Qrow drunk out of his mind, which is easier than you'd think, as you've seen. Anyway, he mentioned the name once before passing out a second later. Going by the last name, I'm to take it that she's young Ruby's mother?"

"Correct. She took a mission over a decade ago, one that would be her last." Ozpin's voice was laced with grief and guilt. "She was presumed dead since then due to the fact that no body was found."

Robin raised an eyebrow at the last four words. "You think she's alive."

One of the most tired and depressed sighs that Robin ever heard escaped Ozpin's mouth.

"All of my rational thoughts say that she is deceased. It would be an insult to her memory to think otherwise, however…" Ozpin peered into the amber liquid in his cup as if it would give him an answer. "However, there's this one part of my mind that wants to believe that she somehow survived."

"Because of the fact there was no proof of her death."

"Truly the mindset of the lost, is it not?" Ozpin let out a dry laugh. "I've lived for many years, Robin, and yet I'm still clinging onto a fool's hope like a child. I thought that you may have come across the ghost that I've been hoping to find, but if you haven't heard of her, then perhaps - no, not "perhaps", but she _truly_ is gone."

Robin opted to remain silent as a memory resurfaced in his head, one that he vowed to never forget. A memory that would signify his first failure as the Shepherds' tactician, a failure that claimed the life of a saintly woman all too soon.

"I apologize for my unsightly behavior. It was most unbecoming of me." The headmaster stood to his feet. "And I must thank you for putting up with an old man's rambles. Good night, Robin."

"It's dawn, Oz."

Ozpin looked over at the clock and took note of the hour hand sitting two ticks before the 'VI'. "…So it is." He then picked up his glass once more. "There's a special rung in hell reserved for people who waste good scotch."

Robin stayed silent once more as Ozpin downed his glass in one go without even a trace of a grimace on his face.

"And I must say…"

Ozpin briefly raised his glass towards Robin before setting it down onto the table. The door then opened and closed once more as the final guest left the cafe, leaving Robin alone at the table.

"At least the VPD didn't drop by this time. I suppose I've Oz and Glynda to thank for that," Robin mindlessly said, whisking the empty glasses on his table to his sink with a flick of his wrist. He glanced at the clock and sighed. "Guess there's no point in sleeping since it's already five-forty in the morning."

Feeling a little too lazy to wash the cups, Robin channeled mana from his core and to his arm. The ethereal power fluidly moved through his limbs and into his fingers with a cool sensation to it, and he thrust his hand in the sink's direction. A couple liters' worth of steaming water suddenly appeared in the sink, submerging the dirty glasses. He'd let them soak in hot water for now and thoroughly clean them later.

Once that was done, Robin went upstairs, took a shower, and was now standing outside of A Shepherd's Rest just as the clock hit six when his scroll started to ring.

"Hello - "

"Robin. Ocean Avenue and Dream Boulevard. _Now._ I need help detaining Qrow."

She then hung up, leaving behind a perplexed Robin. The call from Glynda had not lasted even five seconds.

"Honestly, Glynda." Robin pocketed his scroll and prepared a Warp cast. "I thought you were keeping an eye on him."

 _ **. . .**_

The airship's pressurized doors opened with a hiss and the passengers started filing out. Near the back of the cabin, Pyrrha stood from her seat and was one of the last ones to leave. The brisk morning wind threatened to blow her loosely placed hat off and she tugged it down into a more secure position.

"Hey, is that Pyrrha Nikos?"

One boy suddenly pointed in her direction and Pyrrha quickly walked into the bustling crowd. Despite it being a little past six in the morning, the city was already busy enough that she was able to blend in with everyone else in her brown jacket and jeans.

"What? Where?"

"Right over…where did she…?"

"Come on, dude. Stop messing around."

"No, I'm serious! I swear she was right there!"

"Uh huh, and I'm Headmaster Ozpin of Beacon."

She let out a quiet sigh of relief, mentally patting herself on the back for putting together an outfit to best conceal her identity. It wasn't that she really minded the fame; it was more along the lines of her wanting some alone time.

Pulling her beanie down a little lower to hide her bangs and tucking in most of her hair, Pyrrha walked down the street with her head pointed down and avoiding everyone else's gaze.

 _"…at mid-fifties to low-forties with clear skies until noon, where a few clouds will be rolling in for tomorrow's storm. Expect light rain later tonight starting around eight-thirty - "_

Her ears picked up on the forecast from the electronics store. Numerous holographic screens displayed a weather map with a dark haired woman in front of it, her hand moving here and there as she continued to speak.

Figuring that there really wouldn't be anything of worth to hear from the news, Pyrrha continued to walk down the street.

 _"In other news, we have reports of three bars that were destroyed by an intoxicated man in the past half hour. The efforts of the VPD have proved unsuccessful and - just a moment…"_ There was a brief pause. _"I see. The man has been detained and taken away by two local huntsmen, one of them being the renowned Glynda-"_

She was too far away to hear anything else at this point. She pulled her scroll out of her pocket and turned the corner into one of the slightly less populated streets of Vale. Turning on the screen, she went to her messages and scrolled down onto Blake's name.

"Take a left onto Enix until you reach Square Road. Then take a right after two blocks and it'll be the seventh store in," Pyrrha read aloud, carefully following the directions.

Once her feet slowed to a stop, she looked up. There was a large maple leaf stuck onto the corner of a wooden sign with the word "Scania" written in white.

"Seems like this is the place. Thanks, Blake."

There was a pleasant chime when Pyrrha pushed the door open and the sweet aroma of honey and oak alongside a view of three floors' worth of books. A tiger faunus sat at the receptionist's desk to her right. After asking him for the location of a certain genre of books, Pyrrha gave the faunus a quick thanks before heading upstairs as a man in a white coat entered the store.

"Welcome to - oh… It's you…" The receptionist's voice turned into a low growl as he greeted the man.

"That's not a nice way to greet a friend, Hobbes. You still mad about the bet?" the man playfully retorted. Pyrrha could've sworn she heard his voice from somewhere. "Where's Calvin and Susie?"

"Out."

Not wanting to be noticed, Pyrrha quickly made her way up the stairs onto the second floor as the two continued their chat.

"Let's see…history, mystery, mystery again, non-fiction…" Pyrrha mumbled to herself as she passed by the many rows. "Ah, here it is! Fiction!"

She looked to her immediate left for the authors whose name fell under the 'A' category. The first bookshelf had authors whose names ranged from 'AA' to 'AL', but unfortunately for Pyrrha, the author that she was looking had a first name that was later into the alphabet. With a silent groan, she looked at the second bookcase, and lo and behold, there was the author that she was looking for.

Only there was one problem. The book she wanted was at the very topmost shelf, just out of her reach. It was a bad day to not wear her heels to give her that little extra height that she needed. Not that they'd help - she was already standing on her toes.

Pyrrha looked around for a worker that could help her but found none available. It wasn't too surprising, seeing how it wasn't even 6:30am. There wasn't anything that she could use to climb up either aside from the bookshelves, but she already made the mistake of climbing a bookcase in the past. That was something that she was not eager to do again.

Perhaps she could jump? That would definitely give her the reach to grab the book she wanted, but the book also looked like it was snugly fit alongside all the other books on the shelf, not to mention that she'd look absolutely silly doing it. There was nothing around the book that she could control with her Semblance either.

Then again, desperate times called for desperate measures, although this was nowhere close to being desperate. No one else was around either, so they wouldn't be able to see her jump for the book. The only two people in the store would be the receptionist and the man he was talking to, and they were both on the first floor.

Taking a second to steel herself, she jumped. The sudden movement caused her beanie to slide back a little, but she paid it no mind as her fingers brushed against the spine of the book and fell back down to the floor, and after making sure to land as quietly as she could, Pyrrha jumped a second time. She had more success with her second jump, just managing to touch the very top of the book.

"Third time's the charm," Pyrrha whispered, bending her knees in preparation for the third jump.

Her feet left the ground once more and her index and middle fingers managed to curl themselves around the top of the book's spine. Gravity took hold of her once more and Pyrrha pulled her hand down to bring the book along with her. It worked…for the most part.

The book that she grabbed came free. That much was to be expected. What Pyrrha wasn't expecting was for the book to be so snugly fit between every single other book in the row that half a dozen books were pulled free along with the one that she wanted. With her feet still in the air, Pyrrha could only raise an arm in front of her as she shut her eyes and braced herself for the mini avalanche of books to fall on her.

But it never came.

"That was quite dangerous. Might I suggest a little more caution in the future?"

Pyrrha opened her eyes at the playfully chastising voice and saw a familiar face.

"Good morning to you, Miss Nikos. Pleasure meeting you here of all places."

It took her a second to realize that it was Robin standing in front of her, partially because she never expected to see him here and partially because of his outfit. The first time she saw Robin, he was wearing a black coat that had purple markings and gold embroideries. The second time was in A Shepherd's Rest, where he was wearing a dark grey button up and black pants. Both times he was seen wearing colors on the darker end of the spectrum.

This time, however, he was wearing a white coat over a dark shirt and pants. A long, brown scarf hung loosely around his neck. Disregarding the scarf, the design looked like an inverted version of the outfit he wore the first time they met.

"Good morning, Robin."

There was a stack of seven books that was expertly balanced in Robin's hand, which was the exact same posture that he'd hold the trays at A Shepherd's Rest. She quickly realized that the books he was carrying were the same ones that she accidentally pulled free.

"They may just be books, but they can still be quite painful if they are to fall on your head."

"You sound like you speak from personal experience," Pyrrha noted.

He merely gave her a smile that did nothing to answer her question.

 _ **. . .**_

"The _Divine and Fell_ series?"

"Yes. I've seen it around here and there but never got around to reading it. A friend of mine owns a copy and recommended it to me along with this bookshop," Pyrrha explained. "I believe you know her? Blake Belladonna of Team RWBY?"

After buying a couple of books from Scania, one of them being _The War of Sand_ , Robin invited her to breakfast. She hesitated for a second, wondering whether or not she should go back to Beacon, but her stomach growled at that very moment. With no room for arguments, Robin took her to a small restaurant which she was unable to catch the name of the shop, but the interior looked distinctly Mistralian.

"We've met a couple times," Robin said with a nod, taking off his coat and draping it around his seat. "Though I must ask, if Miss Belladonna owns a copy, why not simply ask if you could borrow it for a short time?"

"She's still reading through the second book and is lending the first book to Weiss. And I might have gotten a little impatient, so…here I am!" Pyrrha sheepishly grinned. "Have you read it by any chance?"

Robin shook his head but there was a knowing gleam in his eyes that Pyrrha didn't miss. "Personally, I have not. Perhaps you can tell me your thoughts on the series once you have finished, and compel me to buy a copy for myself."

"I'd be glad to," Pyrrha smiled. "And I hope I'm not being rude, but can I ask why you were at Scania?"

"There's a series that I've been following for a few years. I was there to check if the third book in the series has been released yet."

"Don't the authors and press usually give a release date for it?" Pyrrha asked.

"Normally, yes," Robin agreed. "Unfortunately for the readers who enjoy Nero's works, we are not given an exact day of release. All we're told is which season of the year that it'd be released to the public."

"That's…" Pyrrha frowned as she was unable to find the right word to suit the situation.

"Quite strange, is it not? I'm afraid that Nero has quite the sadistic sense of humor. In any case, will your teammates not be worried if they see that you are missing from your dorm room?"

"It's alright. I'm usually up training even before this time," Pyrrha said. "I also sent Jaune a message that I'd be in the city to buy a couple of things. Which reminds me!" She pulled out one of the books that she bought from Scania. "This is for him, actually!"

A waitress came up to their table just as she could say anything else. The waitress had violet eyes and hair with a red bow tied to her hair near her left temple. She was wearing a white shirt with a thin, red line that ran horizontally across her chest and a light pink skirt that rested just above her ankles.

"Ah, I'm sorry! Did I interrupt you two?"

"It's fine, Sakura," Robin politely smiled at the waitress. "And good morning."

Sakura's eyes widened when she saw Robin. "Oh, Robin! I didn't realize that it was you! I'm so sorry!"

The waitress hastily bowed in apology, which was something many Mistralians did now that Pyrrha thought about it.

"That's the third time this week that it took people a second glance to know it's me," Robin frowned. "I didn't realize that my face changed so drastically."

"N-No, it's not that," Sakura said, hiding her mouth behind her workpad. "It's just that you usually wear…uhh…how should I put this…" She averted her gaze away from Robin and to the coat hanging on his chair. "You tend to be a lot…darker…"

Robin raised a quizzical eyebrow.

"Ah! I didn't mean it that way!" she hastily added.

"It's because he wears colors like black and grey most of the time, right?"

The smile on Sakura's face was infectious. "Yes!"

"What the - " Robin gave Pyrrha a shocked look. "You've only seen me twice before!"

"Weeeelllll, you _were_ wearing black both times…" Pyrrha innocently replied, and Sakura giggled at Robin's strange facial expression.

"Sakura, while I won't stop you from enjoying yourself, please remember that we are on the clock." An elegant woman with flowing lavender hair smoothly walked over and gently placed a hand on Sakura's shoulder. A soft smile appeared on the woman's face as she greeted Robin. "Good morning, Robin."

"Good morning to you as well, Em," Robin politely returned. "In case I do not see them, could you send the other three my regards?"

"I would be happy to," Em replied before turning to Sakura. "We can visit Robin later during the week when we're off. For now, let's get through the day, shall we?"

"Yes, Ride - I mean, Em!"

With a small nod, Em fluidly walked off as her body movements attracted the eyes of both men and women alike in the restaurant. Once she was a couple tables down, Sakura turned towards Robin and Sakura.

"Are you two ready to order?"

 _ **. . .**_

After they finished breakfast, which was quite possibly one of the most delicious foods that she ever tasted, Pyrrha finally decided to ask a pressing question. To her, at least. The question had been lingering in her head ever since she sparred against Robin with the rest of her team.

"Of course. I cannot guarantee that I will have an appropriate answer, but I will do my best," Robin replied upon her asking.

"How was it that you knew about my Semblance?" When Robin's brow furrowed in confusion, she decided to elaborate a bit further. "During our spar last week, you acted as if you knew what my Semblance was when I never told anyone outside of my team. I trust them enough to the point that they never told anyone else, and Headmaster Ozpin said that our Beacon application papers were absolutely confidential for the sake of everyone's privacy."

"I see. And you are curious as to how and why I suddenly disregarded using my sword against you during our spar?" Robin asked.

"Yes."

Robin was silent for a few seconds as they walked down the streets of Vale. Putting his hands into his coat pockets, he finally replied, "I didn't. And I still don't know what your Semblance is, but I do have a few guesses. For the sake of your own privacy, I will not voice my guesses as to what your Semblance is, nor do you need to tell me what it is."

To prove his point, he gestured around him to the countless people walking around them. While Pyrrha was sure that none of them were even listening to their conversation, as is the mentality of those that live in the busy cities, she understood that it was better to be safe than sorry.

"As to why I did what I did during the fight…" Robin tilted his head back and peered into the clear blue above. "Have you ever heard of the 'Rule of Three'?"

"Yes. My teachers taught me it when I was younger," Pyrrha said, reminiscing on the years before she participated in her first tournament and her teacher, a stunningly beautiful woman with purple-red hair with scarlet eyes and a spear of the same color. "The 'Rule of Three' applies to nearly everything in the world, even survival. The average person can live three minutes without air, three hours without shelter in hazardous conditions, three days without water, and three weeks without food. There are many more examples of the 'Rule of Three', but that one is one of the most widely known rules."

"You are indeed correct. It's also one of the reasons why the phrase, _"The third time's the charm",_ exists. However, the 'Rule of Three' that I speak of ties mainly into combat as well as a few others situations, mainly when dealing with unknowns. It goes, _"Once is an anomaly. The second is a coincidence. The third time is a pattern."_ Keep this in mind when dealing with an opponent for the first time, and _especially_ keep this in mind when fighting the Grimm."

Pyrrha silently repeated the rule as she recalled the fight. She realized with a start that she only managed to use her Polarity against Robin's sword three times before he engaged her with unarmed combat. It was only when she was completely disarmed that he struck her four times with his sword to take her out of the fight.

"I would like to think that I have good control over my own body, so when your Semblance came into play, I thought something was off," Robin continued. "I decided to test my hypothesis out a couple more times, and by the third test, I knew for a fact that something was most definitely off.

"I must say though that I'm very impressed about your Semblance, and that is if what I'm thinking it to be is correct. You were very subtle when using it and any lesser fighter would not have noticed," he said with complete earnesty, something that Pyrrha had not heard in a while. Most people that complimented her did it out of mere courtesy and flattery.

In fact, Robin never treated her like practically everyone else that knew about her and her victories. He treated her like how he would treat anyone else, just like how Jaune did. Granted, Jaune didn't know who she was, but having another person that did not tread lightly around her and didn't shower her with compliments was refreshing.

"But what if the opponent was aware of the rule and purposely made a pattern to deceive you in combat?" Pyrrha asked, finding a flaw in Robin's 'Rule of Three'.

"That's when things get a little more complicated," Robin admitted with a small smile. "You'll have to predict what your opponent will do, see what they see, and think how they will think. To read the mind of your opponent."

"And if it's your first time fighting someone? You won't be able to know how they fight. Isn't that when this 'Rule of Three' usually applies?"

"You'd be surprised at how much information you can gather about a fighter just by observing them. Body language and mannerisms give away a numerous amount of tells about their fighting style. For example, let's say you come across a fighter who walks with confidence and a slight bit of arrogance. They have a muscular build and from what you've seen, they're energetic and hyperactive, not afraid to boast about their strengths. What kind of fighting style would you expect from this combatant?"

"I'd expect someone who is highly aggressive and fights in close quarters."

Robin nodded as he motioned for her to continue her thoughts. Seeing as to what Robin was doing, Pyrrha thought about the fighter's description for a second before answering.

"I'd set myself up for a defensive fight, countering whatever I can while blocking the hits that I can't evade. If they're aggressive, then I could try and aggravate them further in the chance that their anger would cloud their mind and actions."

"Well said. Now let's take another example, shall we? You're about to spar with another opponent. This one has a slim build and has said very little during the entire time in the tournament, whether it be in the waiting rooms or during combat with others. They walk with caution and is always collected and composed. What kind of fighter would you expect?"

"I'd get ready for a neutral fight, going on both the offensive and defensive while having to be on the former a little more often," Pyrrha said, visualizing her opponent in her mind. "A slim build wouldn't allow the fighter to receive too many hits, so I'd expect someone who's extremely agile. If they're calm and composed, then they'd be thinking about their next move while analyzing my own in the midst of combat."

A satisfied smile graced Robin's lips and Pyrrha couldn't help but feel proud of herself, though there really wasn't any reason to be proud. This was all basic knowledge that she picked up during her four consecutive wins.

"And out of these two fighters, which one do you think would keep the 'Rule of Three' in mind and try and trick you?"

"The second one." Pyrrha's eyes then widened as everything came full circle. "I see now! Thank you very much, Robin."

"You're very much welcome, Miss Nikos," Robin warmly replied. "Now, may I ask you a question of my own?"

"Of course," Pyrrha nodded immediately.

"Was my analysis of Miss Xiao Long and Miss Belladonna of Team RWBY correct? Personally, I've never seen them in combat, so I simply gathered what I knew of them and did my best to envision their personal styles in my mind."

Pyrrha froze. Her mind recalled Robin's descriptions from earlier. She thought about her observations of Yang and Blake during combat class. She started to connect Robin's descriptions and her friends' fighting styles. Her jaw dropped.

And then she laughed.

"You're actually spot on," Pyrrha managed to say in between laughs. "I don't know why I didn't make that connection any sooner."

"The human mind can be a fickle thing," Robin simply said.

Her laughter continued until they were halfway down the block. It truly was not that humorous, yet the sounds of her merriment lingered.

"If I may, who was your teacher?" Pyrrha asked once she managed to get a grip on herself. "Not many people are this knowledgeable in combat. The only other teacher that I knew of that has this amount of knowledge would be my own teacher, and she said that I was her first student in many years."

Robin adopted a curious expression as if he was trying to figure out how to formulate a sentence. "Mm… I was mostly self-taught. My combat "teacher", if one can even call him that, was an absolute demon with the blade - the owner of a set sword skills that were a perfect blend between accuracy, power, and speed. But in his words, he was no teacher. Instead of lessons and drills, we simply sparred against each other. Of course, I had my rear handed to me more than a hundred times, and I am not exaggerating that number.

"As for my Aura Manipulation, it was through many, _many_ trial and error experiments with a friend of mine. Her love of knowledge was absolutely unparalleled, and I cannot tell you how many times we've set fire to the surrounding area from a failed experiment."

"Fire?"

"Her Semblance gave her a knack for lighting things on fire, present company included."

"Oh. My condolences."

Robin let out a calming laugh. "No one got hurt from our failures, which is a miracle in itself. But enough about me, what about you? I believe you said that you got the tactics book for your friend, Jaune?"

Pyrrha immediately perked up when Jaune was mentioned. "That's right! I'll admit that Jaune is a little lacking when it comes to practical combat, but he has a good tactical mind."

"You really think so, Pyr?"

"Yes, Jaune. I really do think - " She blinked. In front of her was a certain blonde teammate with a faint redness in his cheeks. "Jaune? What are you doing here?"

"Well, I was kinda worried," Jaune said as he scratched the back of his head. "You're normally back before we eat breakfast, but you didn't arrive. We were worried that something happened, so…here I am, I guess."

Butterflies were fluttering in her stomach. The dork of a leader in front of her most likely didn't even notice it, but Pyrrha was restraining herself from hugging him like a giant teddy bear.

"Miss Nikos? I believe you have a gift for Mister Arc?" Robin said, bringing her mind back down to Remnant.

"That's right!" Pyrrha mentally reached into her bag and pulled out her gift. "Jaune, this is for you. I know this isn't much, but I've seen you been staying up late into the night, studying whatever material you can get from the library. I hope this helps."

Jaune slowly reached out and took the book into his hands. " _'A Shepherd's Guide to Basic Strategies'_? By Reflet Alius…" His brow furrowed in that cute manner that it does whenever he's confused. "Why does this sound so familiar?"

"Well, it could be because Reflet Alius and his strategies are renowned throughout the world as the one of, if not _the_ , best methods on fighting Grimm. It might also be because Weiss and Blake haven't stopped talking about Alius for the past few days whenever they can," Pyrrha explained.

"Ooooohhhhh, that makes a lot of sense." Jaune gave her a bright grin. "Thanks a bunch, Pyr. This actually means a lot. I'll repay you for this. I promise, and - "

" - an Arc never goes back on his word, right?" Pyrrha finished with a giggle. "Maybe one day you can get really good at strategy and get us a meeting with Reflet Alius," she jokingly said.

Jaune's smile only grew wider. "I'll do my best to make it happen."

Pyrrha turned around and faced Robin, who was watching the two of them with an amused expression.

"Thank you for your time today, Robin. I'll make sure to remember your lesson from earlier."

"I didn't intend for it to be a lesson, but you're welcome nonetheless," Robin replied. "Have a pleasant day, Miss Nikos, Mister Arc. Do drop by Shepherd sometime."

"Of course - wait..." Pyrrha's eyes started to widen as her gears started to turn. "A Shepherd's Rest... _'A Shepherd's Guide'_? Robin, could it be - "

But the man was no longer there, lost in the chaos that was Vale's morning rush.

 _ **. . .**_

Robin chuckled as he watched Jaune and Pyrrha walk towards Beacon's boarding zone from a distance. If his extensive time in accidentally matchmaking the Shepherds taught him anything, it was reading the small tells on a person's face when they were speaking with someone that they were attracted to. And Pyrrha had it pretty bad, especially since Jaune's ability to detect a woman's feelings was on par with Chrom's.

"Best of luck to you, Miss Nikos. You'll definitely need it," Robin solemnly said. "Gods know that Cordelia needed it and more."

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **I hope I'm not blowing Pyrrha's crush on Jaune out of proportion. I'm not well-versed in writing anything involving romance.**

 **This was originally going to be a Ren focused chapter but I couldn't get it to flow very well. This came out instead.**

 **Once again, so many easter eggs and references.  
\- Fate/Grand Order's Musashi plushie (Google it. It's adorable).  
\- Destiny 2's Red Legion.  
\- The rock story (shameless referencing to FE:AA Ch6).  
\- A quote from Inglourious Bastards.  
\- Ocean Ave and Dream Blvd || Yellowcard and Green Day.  
\- Enix and Square Rd || This is self-explanatory.  
\- Scania and the tiger** **faunus || Those who know will know what I'm referencing. Those who don't know…unfortunately won't.  
\- Calvin and Hobbes.  
\- Tomestackers.  
\- A few characters from the Fate Universe. Specifically, Sakura, Medusa (Rider), and Scathath.  
**

 **Speaking of them, any characters that I reference from other media/games will not have any significant impact on the story. They are merely minor characters that I added in for fun and for a little bit of world-building (if this can even count as world-building), and are characters that were born and lived in the world of Remnant their entire lives. No one else traveled worlds. As such, the FE:Fates characters are nothing more than a third-year team at Beacon and the cast of Fate are nothing more than the owners of a small restaurant, not unlike Robin with A Shepherd's Rest. That _is_ what easter eggs are, after all.**

 **The Fate restaurant idea stemmed from the F/SN shorts "Today's Menu for the Emiya Family".**

 **Maybe I'll 'easter egg' more characters from Type-Moon. Like Canaan or Shiki. If you're wondering which Shiki...yes.**

 **Robin's outfit when meeting Pyrrha is based on FGO's [Heroic Spirit Traveling Outfit: Merlin].**

* * *

 **Final note...**

 **All** **of you are crazy. Honestly. Granted, there are only 25 stories in the FExRWBY section (as of now), but I never thought I'd hit the top. At all. Boggles my mind.**

 **Thank you all for your support, whether it be favorites, follows, and/or reviews. Even the simple act of viewing and reading means a lot. I hope that this chapter and the chapters to come will be able to live up to all your support.**


	6. Mysteries

**Decided to splurge a little and bought Sennheiser HD1 headphones. My ears have been in heaven for the past few days. My wallet/bank account, on the other hand...let's just say that it's crying from the sudden lack of weight in it. As am I.**

 **But that's neither here nor there. Enjoy reading.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

"So, you're _him_ , huh?"

Robin frowned at the man in front of him. There was a strange sense of deja vu.

"Well, I'd like to agree or disagree with you, but I'm afraid I can't since I'm not entirely too sure as to what it is that you've heard of me," Robin replied.

"Ha! The guy's got balls, I'll give 'im that! Bein' a smartass when he's cuffed to a chair?"

Another man appeared from the corner of the room. Since both he and the first man were wearing dark suits and the white mask of a Grimm, the only thing that Robin could reliably call them by was by the minute differences in their masks. And the faunus trait that they had.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," the first White Fang member with curled horns growled, contrary to his faunus' docileness.

"I'm afraid I do not, Sir Ram."

"Ram's" mouth dropped momentarily as he took a moment to connect Robin's nickname to him. The other White Fang member howled in laughter.

"I like this guy!" A predatory grin formed on his face. He unfolded his arms and Robin was able to catch a glimpse of leathery skin and reptilian pupils from behind the mask. "Goin' by that, then call me "Gator"."

"As in 'alligator'?" Robin asked. "That is quite the powerful faunus trait you have, Sir Gator."

Gator's grin grew wider. "Damn. If only I wasn't forced to follow these damned orders. I'd love to sit down and have a drink with you. Like to think I'm a good judge of character, and you? You seem like a fun bastard to drink with."

Robin noticed that Gator didn't mention anything about humans and faunus. "I'm honored that you think so highly of me already, and your proposal may be easier than you think, Sir Gator."

"Drop the 'Sir', would ya? Makin' me feel old. I ain't even thirty yet."

"As you wish, Gator. As I was saying, sharing a drink won't be as difficult as you may think," Robin smiled, purposefully ignoring Ram's growing annoyance. "I'm quite familiar with a few bars Vale, many of them having no prejudice against faunus. And I'm sure you can get a day off of work."

Gator let out a low whistle. "That's mighty temptin', I gotta admit. If it weren't for this little situation of ours, I'd take ya up on that offer."

Ah yes, the "situation". Robin was currently bound to a metal chair in the middle of a small, dark room on the outskirts of Vale. The only source of light was a dim lightbulb above his head that sputtered every few moments. A handcuff locked his wrists together behind his back and a thick chain was wrapped around his ankles. Given by the strange feeling of restraint that wasn't physical, he assumed that these were the Aura-binding chains that were mostly used by the Atlas Specialists in detaining rogue huntsmen.

"I don't suppose you could just…let me go?" Robin asked.

"As if, _human_!" Ram pushed Gator out of the way and glared at Robin through his mask. "The hell do you think you're doing?!"

"Is that a trick question?" Robin raised an eyebrow. "You're the ones that tied me here while I'm merely having a chat with Gator and planning a little event in the coming future." His eyes then widened in realization. "Ah, terribly sorry. It was quite rude of me to invite your partner to a drink whilst ignoring you. This may be a little late, but would you also like to join us?"

Gator howled in laughter once more while Ram's face, or what could be seen of his face, turned red from anger. And possibly humiliation. Most likely the latter. Maybe both.

"Hmm." Robin furrowed his brow as he stared at Ram. "Could it be that you are a light drinker? If so, then there is no need to worry. I am quite capable of taking care of someone who has had a little too much to drink. Years of experience, might I add."

"You damned human…" Ram curled his fingers into a fist. "I'm talking about your damned shop!"

"Is there something wrong with it?" Robin frowned. His eyes then looked up at the horns. "Oh... Once again, my apologies. I did not mean any insult when naming my shop. It is nothing more than mere coincidence, and the reason for naming it 'A Shepherd's Rest' is actually quite the personal reason."

"The hell are you - " Ram froze when Robin's words registered in his head. "You little… Making fun of my faunus trait…"

"S-Stop! Can't - Can't breathe!" Gator was in a fetal position on the ground, his fist repeatedly slamming onto the floor. "Sh-Shepherd… Ram… Sheep!"

"Enough!" Ram yelled, roughly grabbing onto Robin's collar. "I will not sit still under this humiliation!"

"So you _were_ offended. I apologize once again, though I am unsure as to how you'd _"sit still under this humiliation"_ when you are currently standing and I'm the one stuck to a chair."

Ram swung his fist in rage. It wasn't a bad punch. On the contrary, he actually had a good form even when holding Robin and his chair up in the air. Unfortunately, the fist was moving much too slow in Robin's eyes, and he reinforced the left side of his face with a quick Spellcraft just as Ram's knuckles collided with his cheekbone. The result was Robin (and chair) falling back onto the floor, relatively unharmed, while Ram recoiled in pain, nursing his knuckles that were probably fractured.

"The hell are you made of?"

"Is that a trick question? I'm pretty sure that you and I are made up of the same things, minus the faunus bits."

"Anyway~" Gator finally managed to control his laughter and stepped in before Ram's anger grew even more. "One of our superiors wanted to know what your plan for your shop was."

Robin furrowed his brow. "I'm afraid I don't understand what you mean by that."

"They basically wanna know if you've got some sorta second objective. An ulterior motive, guess you could call it. It ain't every day that a human-owned shop opens up and starts accepting humans and faunus left and right. Personally, I couldn't give a damn, but the higher-ups are a bit…well…"

"Paranoid? Foolish?"

"Yeah, yeah. That." Gator nodded. "So, do ya?"

Robin shook his head. "Can't say I do. The only thing I plan on doing with my cafe is to continuously do what I enjoy, which is brewing coffee. The lien and interactions I have with those that come in are simply a bonus."

"Even if some of them are faunus?"

"I hold no ill will against faunus, nor do I have any ill will against humans," Robin firmly said. "In fact, I used to fight along a few faunus many years ago and they quickly came to be some of my closest friends. They've saved my life more times than I can count and I'd like to think that I've done the same for them."

"…I see."

"Now then, I believe it is nearing dawn," Robin casually said. "If there is nothing else, then I shall take my leave."

Ram snorted and crossed his arms. "Says who? I still got a bone to pick with you - " Gator snickered at the word "bone". " - and I sure as hell am not gonna release you."

"I can get free by myself, no need to worry."

"I'd like to see you try. Those chains are Aura binding chains. You aren't going to be able to do anything with your Aura and if you have a Semblance, you won't be able to use it here," Ram sneered.

"Hm. I suppose that would pose a problem, wouldn't it?" Robin shrugged. "Well, it's not as if there aren't other ways around these bindings. I'm already out, after all."

"Ha! You're a damn jokester, you know that?" Ram smirked at Robin. "I'm not sure if you realize this or not, but you're still here!"

Robin calmly smiled as he started to flood his body with mana. "Maybe I am. Then again…"

He vanished in a blink of an eye. The handcuffs and chain that once held Robin fell to the floor with nothing to hold, leaving behind a chair and a small piece of paper with three words written in a neat penmanship.

While Ram was making strange choking sounds on how Robin mysteriously vanished, Gator walked over and picked up the paper and read the words out loud.

" _"_ _Maybe I'm not."_ "

Gator howled with laughter once more.

 _ **. . .**_

Robin rematerialized in his room and plopped down onto his bed.

"About time I got that test out of the way. Only took half a decade," he said to himself, pulling out a small notepad. Grabbing a pen from his desk, he marked off one of the many checkboxes on the front page. "Aura and mana are similar in many ways, but mana can't be confined like Aura." He frowned and chewed on the end of his pen. "I wonder why that is? Is mana more 'free' than Aura? Eh, more tests for a later time."

He tossed both the notepad and pen over his shoulder where they dissipated into his spacial storage.

"Gator seemed like a pretty nice guy. Maybe I can convince him to pull a Henry and have him leave the White Fang."

 _ **. . .**_

"Ruby, get down!"

Heeding her sister's advice, Ruby immediately threw herself forward and entered a roll. A hail of bullets whizzed overhead and hit a few of the surrounding trees, showering her with bits of wood. She glanced over to her left where the rounds came from, but all she saw was a shadow vanish into the treeline.

"Thanks, Yang!" Ruby called out, swinging around Crescent Rose and aimed it in the direction that the shadow vanished off to. It never reappeared. Instead, her sister dropped down from the trees and sprinted at the mysterious shadow.

"I've got this, Rubes! Go help Blake!" Yang yelled over her shoulder.

"Gotcha!"

Dipping into her Semblance, Ruby kicked off the ground and vanished in a blur. The only proof that she was once there were the scattered rose petals that slowly drifted towards the ground. She kept running until she burst out of the woods and entered a rocky terrain. Fissures and chasms split the ground open in various areas, mountain peaks seemed to scrape the sky above her, and she saw countless cliffs that led to a few hundred feet of freefall into a dark void of nothing.

In the center of it all was Blake, fending herself off from attacks that came from both sides. Ruby watched in horror as a round hit her teammate between the shoulder blades, causing her to stumble for a fraction of a second. But that second was all that their enemies required and Blake fell under an onslaught of seemingly endless rounds and an explosion. When it ended, Blake was already on her knees, already falling forward and collapsing onto the ground. Standing in front of her were the two assailants that caused her teammate to fall.

Ruby screamed. It was a sound that was a mix between anguish and sorrow, and she twirled Crescent Rose in front of her and fired off round after round after round.

Her first shot took her opponents by surprise. They whipped their heads in Ruby's direction as her first shot missed them both while the second round struck one of them on the arm. The impact alone caused her body to twist to the side and a third round just barely grazed her cheek. The fourth round struck her between the eyes and she was thrown backward and landed on her back, unmoving. She wasn't dead, evident from the lack of her Aura shattering, but she was definitely unconscious at the very least.

Unfortunately, the time that it took Ruby to down the first opponent was used by the second efficiently. She was already running at Ruby, expertly dodging Ruby's high-velocity rounds with ease. When Ruby's weapon clicked empty, she backstepped as she converted Crescent Rose back into its scythe form, but that brief moment of changing weapons was brutally capitalized upon by the approaching fighter.

The opponent raised her weapon and fired. The round struck Ruby's hand, causing her to wince from the pain and loosen her grip on Crescent Rose. Before she had the chance to recover, Crescent Rose was wrenched from her hands and a blade was pressed to her throat.

"Give up?"

Ruby's eyes looked at the blade at her throat, then to Crescent Rose that was lying on the ground off to the side, back at the blade, then sighed and raised her arms in the air.

"I surrender," she said in defeat.

There was a loud buzz that hurt Ruby's eardrums. The blade was retracted from her throat and her opponent extended a hand while the arena around them reverted to its original, simplistic look.

"Good match, Ruby," she warmly smiled.

Ruby shook her hand and returned a bright smile of her own. "Same to you, Pyrrha. But next time, Team RWBY is going to win!"

There was a low whistle from behind Ruby as Yang and Ren walked up, both looking worse for the wear.

"Dang, Rubes. I didn't know you could yell like that," Yang grinned.

"Hehe, I know, right?" Ruby beamed. "Not bad, right?"

Yang shrugged and gave Ruby a smirk. "Eh. I'd give it a six out of ten."

"What!" Ruby pouted immediately. "It was an eight! At least!"

"Nope. Six and a half."

"Seven and a half."

"Seven-point-zero, take it or leave it."

Ruby pouted again. "Fiiiiine."

There was a small "Oof" from Ruby when Yang roughly wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Come on. Let's go wake up Blake. I think she's still taking a nap over - "

"I'm right here, Yang."

Were it not for Yang's arm around her shoulder, Ruby would've no doubt leapt a few inches off the ground. That didn't stop the "Eep" from escaping her throat, however. Her cheeks most definitely did not heat up from embarrassment.

"Aww, you're so adorable!" Yang squealed, tightly wrapping her arms around Ruby.

As the elder sister continued pampering the younger sister, Weiss and Jaune caught up to them, the latter carrying a still-unconscious Nora, with Professor Goodwitch not far behind. Upon seeing the combat teacher, Yang released Ruby from her hold. The two teams stood still with bated breaths as they awaited her assessment of their match.

After nearly ten seconds of complete silence, Professor Goodwitch gave them a curt nod. "I will see you all tomorrow." Then she proceeded to briskly walk away from the two teams.

"Did… Did she just…" Jaune's mouth was a perfect circle.

"Yes. Yes, she did," Weiss slowly nodded.

The eight of them all agreed that the nod of acknowledgment from the professor accompanied by a lack of critique was the closest thing that they'd all get to a compliment from her.

"Sooo…what now?"

Shrugs were tossed around.

 _ **. . .**_

"And that's how we got here!"

Ren had to fight down a smile. His team, along with RWBY, had used their free time to visit A Shepherd's Rest. Upon entering, they were immediately seated and when Robin came up to take their order, Ruby started telling him an extravagant tale about the match between the two teams. Nora joined in midway through and by the time they finished, Robin had an amused look on his face.

During the time that Ruby and Nora were recalling their match, Robin somehow managed to not only get the orders of the remaining six members of the teams, but also the orders of the other customers in the store, which raised countless questions in Ren's head. Not once had Robin walked away from their table, but there were customers that were suddenly drinking from a cup that wasn't there before. Ren knew that he wasn't exactly the most talkative type, but he made up for it with his insight and ability to keep a constant eye on his surroundings, and he was _not_ seeing or imagining things.

"Well, I sure pity the team that will be going up against yours in the Vytal Festival," Robin finally said. "From the sounds of it, I don't think half of the second-year teams will be able to compete with yours."

Everyone seated at the table reacted differently to Robin's compliments. Ruby and Nora beamed in pride, Pyrrha and Blake politely smiled, Jaune sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, Ren merely nodded with the slightest hints of a smile on his lips, and Yang and Weiss looked incredibly smug.

"Out of curiosity, may I ask how many times have you fought against each other?"

As he asked his question, Robin flicked his wrist. A tray appeared in his hands with a few drinks balanced on top, and Ren slightly narrowed his eyes. Something was definitely up with Robin. It wasn't that Ren didn't trust the man; he simply found the shopkeeper and his abilities to be incredibly mysterious. Otherworldly, even. A quick glance around the table told him that Weiss, Blake, and Pyrrha were all thinking along the same lines as he.

"Nine times," Yang replied. She then pointed a finger at Jaune, nearly knocking over a cup in Robin's hand in the process. Thankfully, Robin had quick reflexes and maneuvered the cup around Yang's hand to gently set it on the table. "We're going to win the next fight against your team! And then the next! That'll put us in the lead!"

"Competitive, isn't she?" Robin chuckled. "I will be back shortly with the rest of your drinks after I help a few others in the store."

Once Robin was far enough away, Blake looked at the more attentive members of the group.

"How?"

Weiss shook her head. "He lives up to his title, _Mystical Shepherd_ , incredibly well."

"He has a title?" Pyrrha curiously asked.

Nodding, Blake pulled out her scroll and pulled up and gave the screen a few taps. A couple second later, she opened up a news page and handed her scroll to Pyrrha. Taking the offered scroll, Pyrrha held it in her hands and began to read a few of the articles' titles.

" _'_ _Vale's Magic Cafe Owner', 'The Mystical Shepherd', 'Do Magicians Exist?'_ …" Pyrrha handed the scroll back to Blake. "He's quite popular."

"He also doesn't discriminate, which greatly boosted his popularity amongst the faunus," Blake added, pocketing the device. "Most places tend to favor humans over faunus, even if they don't know that they're doing it subconsciously."

Ren noticed that Weiss looked a little miffed from Blake's statement, but opted not to say anything. Whether or not the girl had a problem with the faunus, Ren didn't know. Though he could assume, it wasn't his place to say anything or pry for information.

They watched as Robin walked out from behind the counter with a tray in his hand. He made his way over to a table on the other side of the store, where a girl and boy were sitting. The girl had blonde hair, stormy grey eyes, and was wearing an orange t-shirt and jeans. The boy had black hair, sea-green eyes, and was wearing a denim shirt with khakis. Their eyes lit up as Robin approached and the boy started animatedly talking with Robin.

"How he manages to have a conversation with his customers while running the store properly is beyond me," Weiss muttered.

"Don't most restaurants and cafes usually have their waiters and waitresses talk with their customers?" Pyrrha asked.

"Yes, they do, but those stores usually have multiple people on the floor at once and even more people in the back to handle the orders," Weiss replied. "Even then, some stores have difficulty with everything that's going on, causing some orders to get mixed up and delayed. Robin, on the other hand, is doing what they cannot; he's engaging with the customers while running the entire floor all by his lonesome."

Ren nodded as he understood the amount of work that was required. Watching the floor was one thing, but Robin would also have a number of drinks that needed to be crafted behind the counter. To run the floor alone, one would have to keep a mental timer in their head at all times while constantly improvising to make sure that any new customer that came in would not have to wait too long. And then add in the factor of engaging in a conversation with anyone and everyone…

Ren shook his head. The mere thought of doing all that alone was mind-boggling.

Time trickled by as RWBY and JNPR relaxed in A Shepherd's Rest. For a brief moment in time, they forgot all about the Grimm as they conversed with each other, talking about random things that ultimately had no meaning in the larger picture yet still held a form of significance to each of them. At one point, Ruby and Nora were arguing about which food was better, pancakes or chocolate chip cookies.

It wasn't until two trays were placed down upon their table that any of them looked up. By that point in time, a little over three hours had passed.

"Ah, my apologies," Robin quickly said as he passed a cup to everyone at the table. "It was not my intent to interrupt."

"It's quite alright," Pyrrha smiled then furrowed her brow at the drinks. "But we didn't order anything."

Robin dismissively waved his hand. "Consider them on the house, Miss Nikos. All of you seemed like you were having a good time, so who am I to ruin it?"

"Thank you, Robin," Ren quickly said before anyone else had a chance to say something. He was never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"You are very much welcome," Robin replied.

The trays were whisked away with a flick of Robin's wrist and Ren shared a look with the more attentive members of the group. They all nodded and unanimously decided that it was time to address the elephant in the room.

"How are you doing that?" Weiss asked, rooting Robin to the spot before he could walk away.

"Doing what?" Robin innocently smiled. As if to mock them, he pulled out a cup from thin air and proceeded to take a long gulp of whatever was inside the cup.

" _That_." Weiss narrowed her eyes at Robin. "How are you taking things out of nowhere and making them vanish into nothing?"

"My dear Weiss, did my hint not do anything for you from two weeks ago?" Robin teased, pulling up a chair out of nowhere and sitting down with them. "I was sure to make it quite easy to notice, and I even gave you a display a few days prior to today."

 _'"Display"?'_ Ren wondered.

"It was because of your little "display" that my original assumptions were thrown off," Weiss huffed, a red tint appearing on her cheeks. "My team and I originally thought your Semblance to be along the lines of Imagery Projection, but the more I thought about it, the less likely it seemed. As absurd as this may sound, I would guess that your Semblance is Spacial Distortion or something similar to it."

Her last line garnered the attention of everyone at their table immediately. All eyes were on either Weiss or Robin, the latter of whom raised an eyebrow at the former.

"Oh?" A small smile formed on Robin's lips, one that was a combination of pride, amusement, and interest. "That is quite the claim. Pray tell how you arrived at such a conclusion."

Weiss cleared her throat and straightened her back. It was the same posture that she'd take whenever a professor called on her during class.

"Whenever I saw you use your Semblance, the items that you had appear or disappear was related to your store, such as your cup and the chair you're sitting on," she began. "And while this may seem obvious as I've only seen you inside A Shepherd's Rest and nowhere else, I noticed that it would only be items from behind the counter. Sometimes it would be the drinks that we ordered while other times it'd be the tray that was used to carry multiple cups in at once. Even the first time that I saw you use it was for ice cream, which also happened to be used for the desserts that you made.

"With this in mind, I've never seen you once use your Semblance for anything else. Not once have I seen behind your counter, which is where I'm assuming everything is once you use your Semblance on them, whether it be trays, drinks, or menus. As such, instead of your Semblance creating something out of nothing, you are merely transporting an item from one place to another."

A broad grin appeared on Robin's face but Weiss wasn't finished.

"At least, that is what I thought until a few days ago," the heiress continued. "All thoughts of your Semblance to be related to Spacial Distortion was figuratively thrown out the window when you controlled the elements. Unless your clothes are infused with Dust, which is an extremely rare prospect, or unless you used your Semblance to transport the elements from somewhere and move them around, I'm afraid that I am not sure anymore."

"Yes, that does pose a problem, does it not?" Robin chuckled. "It also does not seem to help that Team JNPR here has experienced something different with my Semblance last week. Although…" He paused when the girl and boy from earlier got out of their seats. "Leaving?" he asked them.

The boy nodded. "Yeah, just got an IM from Grover. He found two northeast of here."

"I see. Best of luck to you both."

"I'll give Thalia your regards when we meet up with her," the girl said.

"That'd be much appreciated, Annabeth," Robin smiled.

With a final wave, Annabeth left the store alongside the boy, closing the door behind them and leaving the two teams as the last ones remaining in the cafe.

Yang's eyes followed the boy for a few seconds before looking around the empty store.

"Slow day?" she asked and Robin merely shrugged.

"I would like to blame the poor weather," he replied, gesturing out the window. Dark clouds were gathering overhead. "I believe that the reports said that there's a heavy storm coming tonight. Might I suggest that you return to Beacon before - "

 _*BOOM*_

There was a crack of thunder and a torrent of rain fell from the skies. The ground was soaked in an instant, and the heavy rain made it difficult to see just across the street. From outside the store, screams could be heard as people ran to take shelter from the sudden storm.

"I would like to retract my previous suggestion and offer a new one; might I suggest that you remain here until the storm passes?"

More thunder rumbled in the distance.

"That…does seem like a good idea…" Jaune agreed, opening up a weather app on his scroll. "Turns out the storm isn't going to let up until at least 5am, and it's still a seventy-one percent chance of raining then."

"No, it does not seem like a good idea! We have class tomorrow in the morning!" Weiss argued, rising from her seat. "I will not let a little storm be the reason why I arrive late to class!"

"But you'll catch a cold if you leave!" Ruby worriedly said.

That caused Weiss to pause for a moment. But only for a moment.

"And if you catch a cold, you'll bedridden, which by extension will make you definitely miss class," Blake added.

"No common cold is going to stop - "

"You could potentially get the others sick as well," Pyrrha joined in.

That was the nail in the coffin. Weiss was many things, but Ren knew that she'd never hurt someone that didn't deserve it. By walking around with a cold, she could very easily inflict that same sickness onto anyone else that happened to come near her, especially her team.

"…Fine." Weiss sighed as she took her seat. "Then what do you suggest we do? We don't know how long this storm will last exactly and I do _not_ wish to miss class."

"I believe I may have a solution to that."

Robin was tapping away on his scroll's screen. A few seconds later, he put his scroll up to his ear.

"Hey. Yeah, it's me. I know, I'm actually calling you instead of you calling me for once. First time for everything, right? Anyway - no, don't expect this to be a routinely thing. scrolls are annoying, but I won't deny their efficiency… _I_ sound like an old man? Look who's talking, you four-eyed coffee addict!"

The eight students all looked at one another with the same look of confusion on their faces. The man's current manner of speech was a far cry from what they were used to.

"As I was saying, I've a question for you. Notice the storm outside? Yes, I know you live in a damned tower with obnoxiously giant windows; I'm just making sure that you're not off your… Just shut it and let me speak, Ozpin."

If they weren't surprised before, they definitely were now, though RWBY to a lesser extent. No one ever spoke to Beacon's headmaster in such a crude manner. Yet here was an owner of a coffee shop talking to Ozpin in a sarcastic and condescending tone.

"Two of your student teams, RWBY and JNPR, are currently stranded in my store due to the storm. Since - no, I didn't kidnap them. What kind of person do you take me for? Anyway, since I'd much rather not have them traverse this weather, I figured that I'd let them stay the night here," Robin explained. "Obviously, this'll mean that they won't be able to make it back tonight but they'll be there tomorrow morning. How's this sound to you? Good? Good. I'll talk to you later."

After that, Robin hung up and tossed his scroll behind him, where it vanished into motes of silver light. He then brought his hands together in a clapping motion with a victorious smirk on his face.

"Good news. I just spoke with Ozpin, and he…" His smile morphed into a frown as his eyes scanned the table. "Why the incredulous looks?"

Ren was sure he had an impassive look on his face, but the same could not be said for the others. Jaune especially kept opening and closing his mouth like a fish.

"We didn't realize that you were familiar with the headmaster," Ren finally said.

Robin nonchalantly shrugged. "That would be one way of putting it."

"He's casual enough with Headmaster Ozpin to punch his shoulder," Yang drawled. "Oh wait, sorry, lemme correct that; he's casual enough with punching a person who was very much the headmaster but was currently not the headmaster at the time."

Another shrug. "Guilty."

Jaune held his head in his heads. "What is with this guy… First, he beats our team like nothing, then talks back to Ozpin over a call and hangs up on him, and now I find out that he _punched_ the headmaster?"

"Wait wait wait." Yang leaned forward over the table. "Repeat that first part."

"Um… What is with this guy…?" Jaune slowly said.

"No, not that, you dimwit. The other first part!"

"Mister Arc, Miss Xiao Long, perhaps you like to discuss this elsewhere?" Robin interrupted as he got out of his seat. "I'm afraid that I'll have to close the store an hour early tonight."

As if on cue, a sudden bolt of lightning lit up the sky followed by the deafening crack of thunder.

"Not that I mind, but where _exactly_ are we supposed to go?" Yang asked.

Robin smirked. "Well, I'm glad that you asked that, Miss Xiao Long, because I just so happen to have a small lounge just behind those doors over there…"

 _ **. . .**_

"…This…is by no means…a _"small lounge"_ …"

Ren numbly nodded, silently agreeing with Yang's statement. It was nearly five times the size of the student dorms and he wondered how this was all able to fit inside an average sized building.

Ceiling-high bookshelves lined one of the walls, a grand piano was placed by a window that Ren couldn't see a few feet out of due to the heavy rain, a lavish couch on the adjacent wall, and a set of stairs to his right that most likely led to more rooms upstairs. There was even a fireplace on that very wall. How in Remnant that fireplace would properly function without burning the entire place down, Ren didn't know. There didn't even seem to be a chimney.

He simply chalked it up to one of the many mysteries that was the owner of A Shepherd's Rest. Mysteries that he'd solve sooner or later.

"Actually, it is," Weiss said as she took a seat in a strange, circular chair by a table. "Compared to the lounges back at my manor, this is relatively small."

"We don't all live in a mansion, Weiss," Yang retorted.

"Umm…Weiss?" Ruby was fidgeting with her fingers as she nervously glanced around the room. "A-Are you sure you should be…you know…sitting in that chair without permission?"

"You seem oddly comfortable," Blake noted, voicing the thoughts of everyone in the room.

Weiss simply shrugged. "This isn't my first time here and I'm sure Robin won't mind. He even told me before we left the shop to take a seat wherever we'd like in the lounge. To not accept his offer would be considered rude."

"Then I call the couch!" Nora gleefully yelled and ran across the room. She leapt into the air and onto the couch, landing with a _WOOMPH_.

After hearing Weiss' words and seeing Nora's action, the remaining members grabbed seats of their own. Nora moved aside a bit to allow Ren to sit on the couch with her, Ruby flumped down into a beanbag chair, and Blake, Jaune, and Pyrrha grabbed a couple of stools. Yang, on the other hand, walked over to a speaker set by the bookshelf and pressed a button. Nujabes started playing from hidden speakers and Yang had an appreciative look on her face.

"So, Weiss. What did you mean when you said that Robin controlled the elements?" Ren asked once everyone was comfortable enough.

The girl took a second to clear her throat before speaking. She told them of the events that transpired a few days ago. A couple of accusatory glares were thrown at Yang when Weiss briefly talked of their little fallout, but given by the tone that Weiss had, it was considered to be water under the bridge.

Just as she finished recalling how Robin conjured, froze, and then shattered a flame in his palm, the man in question stepped into the lounge with a large bag in his hand. He raised a quizzical brow when he immediately became the focus of attention.

"Is something troubling you all?"

Nora jumped to her feet and jabbed her finger in his direction. "I KNEW IT! MAGICIAN!"

As if that single accusation explained everything, Robin sagely nodded his head.

"You're not going to deny it or anything?" Jaune asked. There was a hint of eagerness and anticipation in his voice.

A suspicious smile formed on Robin's face. Ren could practically _see_ the man think of a devious idea in his head, and before Ren had a chance to do anything, Robin began walking across the room and set the bag onto the table.

"It is quite late into the night and all of you have class early in the morning tomorrow."

Ren's eyes widened as he realized what was going on. Yang must've noticed it as well as she tried to prevent it from happening. Keyword: tried.

"Oh no, don't you dare avoid - "

"I do believe a few sleeping arrangements are in order." Blatantly ignoring Yang's outburst, Robin snapped his fingers and Weiss disappeared beneath a sudden assault of numerous unrolled sleeping bags, blankets, and pillows with a muffled squeak of surprise. "The couch can be pulled out into a bed if you so wish. Feel free to rearrange the room to make yourselves more comfortable. I only ask that you do not scratch my floors when doing so."

At this point, Weiss managed to free herself from underneath the pile of sleeping supplies and glared at Robin with flushed cheeks. "And why, might I ask, was that necessary?"

"You sat in my favorite chair," Robin playfully replied.

"Are you a child?"

Robin casually shrugged. "You are only young once in your life but you can be immature forever."

That was, without a doubt, the most profound words that Ren heard from someone who just dumped a hefty pile of blankets onto another person because the offender sat in their favorite chair.

Robin then held out his hand a flame appeared in his palm. He casually threw it across the room and into the fireplace, igniting the wood instantly and casting a warm glow over the room. Nora yelled out a few more magic-themed words at the man and began shaking Ren's shoulders.

"In case it gets a little chilly," he casually said as if magically creating a fire was no big deal. He pointed at the bag on the table. "There is an assortment of food in that bag while drinks can be found…" Robin snapped his fingers once more and a few bottles of two-liter sodas and iced tea appeared on the table along with eight cups. "…next to the food."

Ren's eyes danced from Robin, who was currently toying with a tiny fireball in his hands, to the table, the fireplace, and then back at Robin. The fireball was gone now, replaced solid orb of lightning. "How?"

A definitely-not-smug grin was Robin's reply to Ren's question as the lightning ball transformed into ice. "Whatever are you talking about?" He then clenched the iceball in his fist and it promptly vanished.

"What the - how?! Why! When!" Ruby's questions were more exclamations than questions.

"Now that's the million lien answer, is it not, Miss Rose? Which, of course, ties back to what my Semblance is." The smug grin lingered on Robin's face as he made his way towards the stairs. "If there's nothing else, then I shall be upstairs. Do not hesitate to ask me for something if you are in need of it."

His foot didn't even land on the first step before the air folded around him and Robin was there no more.

For nearly a minute, it was as if his sudden vanishment placed a sort of silencing spell on everyone in the lounge. There was only the low rumble of thunder and the crackling fireplace until Ren managed to find his voice.

"He can teleport?"

"Why does he have stairs if he can just teleport everywhere," Yang grumbled as she crossed her arms.

"That…definitely explains how he approached us multiple times without us noticing," Blake mused. "I heard rumors that even Professor Goodwitch was caught by surprise during her first visit."

Jaune's brows shot to the roots of his hair. "Are you serious?"

"I have no reason to lie to you, Jaune. And they were rumors, nothing more than that," she reminded him.

"Rumors are often ill-founded," Pyrrha added with a sad expression on her face. "It would be best to pay them no mind until you find solid proof of whatever the rumor stemmed from."

"On the other hand, all rumors have to start from somewhere, right?" Ren pointed out. "Just like how every joke has a bit of truth in it, no matter how slight."

If Pyrrha was going to reply, or if someone else was going to join in on the conversation, the chance never arrived. There was a loud tearing sound as Nora ripped the food bag apart. When she noticed the sudden silence, she innocently looked up at them. "…What? I haven't eaten anything in _hours_ and it's free food!"

No one could really argue with that. The last time they ate was before their teams sparred against one another, and that was nearly six hours ago. A few stomachs growled when the aromatic smell of food wafted out from the open bag.

And that's when Ren noticed something attached to the topmost to-go food box.

"A note?" Ren picked up the paper, drawing the attention of the others.

"What's it say?" Yang curiously asked.

"It says, _"Perhaps you are asking the wrong questions about my Semblance. Think simple."_ " He looked up at his friends. "Thoughts?"

There were only shared glances and confused looks from everyone. Well, _mostly_ everyone. Nora was greedily eyeing the multiple boxes of food on the table.

"Perhaps he's a Dual-Semblance wielder?" Pyrrha guessed. "One being something related to spacial control while the other is elemental control?"

"Unlikely." Weiss adamantly shook her head. "There hasn't been a Dual-Semblance wielder since before The Great War."

"All the more reason for one to pop up now. A lot of time has passed since then," Pyrrha reasoned.

"Maybe…"

The voice was so quiet that Ren almost missed it. Heads turned to the speaker and Ruby sheepishly rubbed the back of her head.

"Rubes? What is it?" Yang worriedly asked.

The young girl averted her gaze and scratched her cheek with a finger. "N-Never mind. It's a really dumb thought."

"Foolish it may be, but anything is better than nothing at this point," Weiss said. Her words were harsh, but Ren noticed that the heiress' eyes were much softer than they were a few days ago.

It took Ruby a few seconds and a deep breath before she spoke. "Maybe he… _doesn't_ have a Semblance?"

Another brief moment of silence followed her vocal thought. Could that be the case? It was just as likely to be true as Robin being a Dual-Semblance wielder. But, then again, the chances of that happening was…

"Naaaaaahh! That's impossible!" Yang's haughty laughter broke the silence. "Now, let's eat!"

 _ **. . .**_

One floor above them, Robin shook his head as a laugh escaped his lips. He managed to overhear their conversation and did his best to contain his amusement as the Beacon students struggled over the topic of his Semblance. He opened the door to his room and closed it behind him. And then he heard a voice that ran his blood cold.

"What's so amusing, Robin?"

The Shepherd turned around and raised an eyebrow when a figure stepped out of the shadows. Silky black hair cascaded down her back, stopping just short of her waist. Her pale skin seemed to glow in the moonlight that seeped in through the windows, and a black coat tightly hugged her curvaceous figure. Her black leather boots seemed to hover just a margin above the ground as she walked forward.

"Lady Death. To what do I owe the…honor of your visit?" Robin stiffly greeted.

"Hmm. You just had to avoid saying _'pleasure'_ , didn't you?" Death frowned. "I was hoping that you'd say that instead of _'honor'_."

He shrugged. "I'm afraid that I'm a rather fast learner."

Death rolled her ivory-colored eyes. "So it would seem. Though, I still wouldn't mind spending the night with you. You're quite the…" Her gaze moved up and down Robin's body and licked her lips. "… _interesting_ soul. Truly one of a kind."

"I'm flattered." Robin had to fight the shudder that threatened to run down his spine. "I take it that you aren't just here for a friendly visit?"

"Hmph. Ever the serious mood when I'm around. I've seen you hang out with the others, like Ozpin and Qrow. You even treat the students more nicely than me! Why is that?"

 _'It could be the fact that you're literally Death itself. Or herself,'_ Robin deadpanned in his head. He realized his mistake when Death narrowed her eyes at him.

"I heard that. Did you forget that I can read minds?" She shifted her weight onto one leg and placed a hand on her hip. "And you said that you're a faster learner. I'm starting to doubt that if you've already forgotten what I can do."

Robin bit back a curse. He had forgotten about that irksome ability of hers and the other immortal beings he met in the Otherworld during his brief time with death. Lowercase 'd' death. Not Death.

"Anyway, contrary to your belief, I'm actually here for what could be considered a 'friendly' notion."

That got Robin's attention. "Well, this is certainly a first. The previous times that you visited me was because you wanted me to do some ludicrous job for you."

"Ludicrous for you maybe. Not for me," Death retorted. "Back to what I was saying; I'm here because an old friend of yours wanted to see you."

Before Robin had a chance to cycle through the small list of those that he considered his friends in Remnant, the shadows rippled beside Death and a woman in a white robe came stumbling out. Due to her hood being up, Robin couldn't make out her face, but he was able to catch a few strands of stark white hair poking out from beneath the hood.

"Ow ow ow, stubbed my toe on something," the woman whined. She threw off her cowl, revealing a slender face that looked somewhere between mid-late twenties to early thirties (a lady's age was difficult to discern, not to mention a dangerous topic to approach), and medium-length white hair that rolled down her shoulder. Her mouth split into a bright smile when she saw Robin and she tackled him in a hug. "Robin! It's so good to see you!"

It took Robin a second to gather his thoughts and regain control over his body from the unexpected assault. He slowly returned the hug. "S-Snow?"

Snow looked up at him with shining eyes. "Well, duh! Who else could it be?"

Robin shook his head and chuckled. "Forgive me. It was a mere slip of the tongue."

"Better have been," she cheekily grinned. When Robin held her gaze, she broke down into a fit of laughter. "Darn it, how are you so good at this?"

His brow furrowed in mild confusion. "Good at what?"

"Staring contests! I've never beaten you in like…ten, eleven…twelve years?"

The furrowed brow furrowed even further. "Staring contests?"

Snow's jaw dropped and she let out a strangled squeak. "Wait, so…so you mean that for all this time, you weren't even trying? I've been losing staring contests to someone who didn't even know we were playing!"

As Snow fell to her knees in an exaggerated manner, Robin quizzically looked at Death. "Don't you have death-like things to do? Worlds to visit? Souls to grant peace to?"

"Eh." Death nonchalantly shrugged. "I've a few helpers to do that part of my job, Snow being one of them. Though I'm giving her some time off and decided to drop her off here."

"…Why?"

"Because she's one of two souls here in Remnant that can truly get under your skin and I enjoy watching you suffer. The other is…well, I'm sure you know her better than anyone else."

"You sadistic, demonic witch."

"This sadistic, demonic witch can kick your ass to the Otherworld and back without breaking a sweat. I can kill you and bring you back as many times as I want and make you feel the pain of each death. I'll leave you in limbo between worlds for a thousand years and prevent you from dying while your body continuously gives out and fails you, leaving you in a constant state of suffocation."

A bead of cold sweat rolled down Robin's back. Her words were no empty threat.

"Obviously they aren't," Death said, reading his thoughts once more. "Anyway, I just came by to drop off little Snow here. Now that I'm done, I'll get going now. Ta-ta!"

Death melted into the shadows before Robin had a chance to reply. Letting out a breath that he didn't know that he was holding, he looked down at Snow. She was still on her knees, theatrically wailing about her defeats at his hands. It was a miracle in itself that none of the students downstairs came up to investigate the shrieks of this white-robed banshee in front of him. He hadn't even put up a noise-isolation spell.

Speaking of students, Robin noticed that there was little to no difference in the mental maturity levels between Snow and a few members of RWBY and JNPR. And a few members of the Shepherds. His face suddenly paled as a horrifying thought dawned upon him.

 _'Oh gods above in the seventh heaven. I'm going to be dealing with another child for an unknown amount of time, despite this one being physically older than me.'_ He swore he could hear Death laughing in the distance. ' _I'm getting too old for this.'_

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Although most of this chapter was from Ren's point of view, it's not exactly a Ren-focused chapter. He's difficult to get down properly since he's quite the complex character. Either that or I just suck at writing Ren. And Jaune. And Ruby. And Nora. Just realized that's like half the main cast. I should remedy that ASAP…**

 **Ren and the others will get a chapter focused on them like how I did with Weiss and Pyrrha once I get a better grasp on writing their characters and personalities. Messing up an already-established personality of a character is something I want to avoid, which is why the aforementioned characters scarcely had any lines in this chapter.**

 **And there honestly isn't much to say about this chapter. I tried to focus on the cast of RWBY unraveling Robin's mysteries, hence this chapter's title.**

 **The fight scene early in the chapter was (and still is) a portion of the story that I was contemplating on cutting completely. _A Shepherd's Rest's_ tone doesn't fit well with scenes of that nature, so I tried to keep it as brief as possible while also progressing on their skills towards the upcoming Vytal Festival. It worked as a transition to the teams' arrival at Shepherd, but if I can manage to think of a better transition that doesn't mess with the story's flow while still wanting to cut the scene, the possible-newly thought scene will take its place.**

 **Death won't be playing too prominent of a role in this story. Her thing is that she's been "living" for so long that she's seeking out ways to keep herself entertained, and Robin just so happens to be the poor individual that caught her eye.**

 **As for Snow? Well…**

 **Thank you all once again for the reviews, follows, and favorites. You are all fantastic and I will see you in the coming chapter(s).**


	7. Hunting

**Managed to get this out before Smash Ultimate released. *pumps fist*  
Still crying about how there's no playable Golden Sun character. *retracts fist***

 **I also have a question/proposition** **that may or may not interest a few of you. Details at the end of second AN.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

The world, and by extension, life, can be a fickle thing. There are many instances when the world can flip someone on their heads for seemingly no particular reason. Some may pass this off as nothing more than a case of bad luck. Others call it chance. Or coincidence. Some may even call it fate.

A common example would be a student mustering up his or her courage to confess their feelings to whomever that they have feelings towards, only to be rejected. Said rejection may cause the student's outlook on life to solidify to the point they develop a self-deprecating sense of humor and believe that youth is simply an illusion created by hypocrites, for hypocrites are born from the ashes of past failures.

…That last line was most definitely not said by an apathetic man with the eyes of a dead fish.

Another example would be if the parents of a family suddenly decided that it was time to move to a different city. That'd flip the world of their children on their heads, forcing them into a, usually uncomfortable, spot of having to get themselves settled in an unfamiliar area. There are some that are not adept at dealing with new faces, and for those select people, having to make new acquaintances can be a nightmare.

A third would be if, one day, a person would discover that they have a son and daughter that they never knew about. Add in the fact that they're from the future and it gets even more strange.

A fourth example would be dying, ending up in the afterlife, and discovering that not only are there alternate and parallel worlds to the very world that one used to live in, but that there are hundreds of thousands of different universes as well, not including any alternates or parallels.

There were worlds where legends would be summoned to fight in a seven-way death match for a wish-granting relic. Worlds where well-known characters from completely different universes would smash each other out of a fighting stage. Worlds where a supersoldier and his holographic companion journeyed across the system, landed on a planet-sized ring in the middle of nowhere-space, killed an army of an alien covenant, fought off a flood of an infectious scourge, and blew up the ring to prevent the infection from spreading and also preventing the ring from wiping the galaxy of all sentient life.

Granted, the examples three and four are a bit over the top, the latter even more so, but the point remains.

There are also other times in which the world can flip one on their head. Quite literally. As in putting one in a position where they are standing upright with their head on the ground and feet in the air. Which was the exact position that Robin found himself in the middle of the night.

A shadow ripped in front of him and Death appeared with a shit-eating smirk on her face.

"Thrown off the couch on the first night, huh? Thought you would've lasted a few days at least, Robin."

Robin would've flipped her an arcane gesture with a single finger if his body would move. "Blame your apprentice for sleepwalking off the bed and to the couch, then hurling me across the room after applying your stupid 'death breath' to petrify my body."

"Sounds like your fault for being caught unawares."

"I was _sleeping_. In my _own house_. Where a guest and friend attacked me."

"Expect the unexpected."

"That is not only figuratively impossible but also contradictory. Now can you de-petrify me?"

Death folded her arms underneath her ample chest. "Mm… Only if you accept a job."

"I'd much rather wait for this to wear off naturally," Robin immediately answered. "Shouldn't take any longer than a few hours."

Death's eyes flashed dangerously and the temperature in the room dropped drastically. "I'll make it last for much longer than a few hours," she threatened. "Snow can only make the petrification last a short while. I can make it last indefinitely."

Robin bit back a sigh as he looked…down? Up? They both had their eyes angled downwards from their respective positions yet Robin was upside down, so… He gave her an annoyed look.

"Can I at least know what the job entails?"

"Nope."

This time, he truly did sigh. It was going to be a long day.

 _ **. . .**_

A gentle breeze passed through the docks and turned the book's page. With a slight frown marring her face, Blake flipped the thin sheet of paper back to where it was originally and continued to read her book. There was another breeze that threatened to turn the page again and her frown deepened.

Perhaps it wasn't the best time to read a book on a windy day near the end of autumn. With a small sigh, she closed her book and stood from her bench.

"Leaving already? Pity, I was starting to enjoy your company."

Blake looked around and saw a blue-haired man in a tropical shirt sitting by the riverbed with a fishing rod in hand. Despite being more than underdressed for this chilly weather, the man didn't seem to mind the cold in the slightest.

"It's cold," she simply replied. As if to further emphasize her point, she pulled her coat tighter around her. "And I don't see how you were enjoying my company if we weren't even talking."

The man regarded her with an amused look. "Never said anything about talking, just about company. Fishing is nice and all, don't get me wrong, but it's always nice to have someone next to you. Well…" His grin turned into a grimace. "Except for that stupid red archer and obnoxious goldie…"

Blake had no idea who _"that stupid red archer and obnoxious goldie"_ were. Not that it really mattered.

"…Hey."

"Hm? What's up?"

"It's illegal to fish here."

The man wore a splendid poker-face for a full five seconds before sighing deeply. "Course it is. Damn." He reeled in his line and rested it on his shoulder and tossed her a grin. "I'll see you around, missy! If you ever wanna find me again, just look for the fishing spots and I'll be there."

Blake took out her scroll as the blue-haired man walked away. There was a new message in her team's group chat.

 _Yang: Hey B wya?_

It took her a moment to remember what the letters stood for. Curse social norms and their shortened and complicated ways of sending messages. Bringing up her keyboard, she typed out her response and hit 'Send'.

 _Blake: I'm at the river pier._

 _Yang: K~~ :DDD  
Yang: R and I r done shopping  
Yang: Meet Shepherd by 4  
Yang: ?  
Yang: Yes?  
Yang: Yes?  
Yang: Yes?_

By the tuna gods, her partner was -

 _Yang: Yes?_

\- worse than her sister at times.

 _Yang: Yes?_

 _Weiss: Yang, I swear to whatever higher being that may or may not exist in this world, I will encase your scroll in ice if you continue to blow up my scroll with messages!_

There was a brief moment of silence. Then her scroll buzzed again.

 _Ruby: Yes?_

 _Weiss: THAT DOES IT, YANG XIAO LONG!_

 _Yang: LOLOLOL  
Yang: Might wanna check the sender name Weissy :DD_

Another pause.

 _Weiss: I'm not apologizing._

 _Yang: LOL_

 _Ruby: Meet u 2 there!_

 _Blake: Ok._

 _Weiss: Wait a minute. You said to meet at A Shepherd's Rest by 4, right?_

 _Ruby: Yup yup :)_

 _Weiss: It's 3:56, you dolt!_

 _Ruby: Weellllll… Me and Yang r here already  
Ruby: :P_

 _Yang: Tik tok Weiss!_

 _Weiss: You two are insufferable._

 _Yang: U kno u luv us._

Blake was sure she imagined it, but she could've sworn she heard her white-haired teammate's scream echo through the streets. Luckily for her, A Shepherd's Rest wasn't too far from where she was. The cafe was located by the southern end of Vale's commercial district, which was just north of where Beacon's river split the commercial and residential districts.

It took her no longer than ten minutes to reach the cafe. Yang and Ruby were standing outside, both of them playing one of the many mobile games that they downloaded onto their scrolls.

"Hey." Blake greeted the sisters with a small wave.

"Hiya!" "Sup!"

After returning the greeting, the sisters went back to their game and Blake patiently waited. She knew them well enough that they wouldn't really focus on their surroundings when absorbed in whatever it was that they were playing. A quick glance at the screen and she recognized it. What was the game called again? It had something to do with the color blue and lines. Or lanes.

"Fuaaahh~" Ruby exhaled deeply as she lowered her scroll. There was a large "S" and the word "Perfect" displayed on the screen, both in a golden font. "Sorry, Blake. It's just that there's an event going on right now and I _really_ want the limited unit that drops from the boss."

"I see." Blake did, in fact, _not_ see.

"YES!" Yang suddenly pumped her fist into the air. "Got her to drop!"

"What!? No way!" Ruby whined.

"Yes way, my dear little sis," Yang gleefully said, showing both her sister and Blake her screen. There was a blonde woman in a white naval officer's outfit in front of a yellow and lime colored background. "And that's proof!"

The team leader visibly deflated and groaned. "You always have better luck with RNG than me. You got the sisters from 3-4 in like ten runs too!"

 _'Are-En-Gee?'_ Blake's brow furrowed at the strange terminology.

"Are you kidding me? You got all the craftable units in under twenty cubes!" Yang tapped her screen a few times and opened up an entirely different page. "I only have Washington after using over a hundred cubes! And besides, you can get Carolina from the event exchange."

"But you know my luck with the exchange shops! I only ever get the grand prize item in the last set, just like the event CE's in Fate!"

"But you're at least guaranteed to get them as long as you deplete the box. The same can't be said for pulling or building units! That's all luck and desire sensor and RNG!"

Before Blake got even more lost than she already was, she ushered her teammates inside to escape the soon-to-be-winter's chill. The three of them sat down in their usual window seat and Ruby began rubbing her hands together to warm them up.

"Why were you two outside anyway?" Blake curiously asked. "If you were cold, you could've just gone inside."

"We wanted to wait for you and Weiss," Ruby brightly said. "It wouldn't be fair if you two were outside while we were inside a warm shop."

"As much as I appreciate the thought, you could catch a cold by doing that," Blake said in a tone that was both stern and kind. "It rained pretty heavily overnight, remember? Humid and cold don't go well with your body."

"The girl's right, y'know," a new voice said from the front of the table. "No amount of Aura can protect you from an illness."

Blake looked up. She blinked once. Twice. Three times.

"You…You're not Robin…" Ruby slowly said.

"Good eyes," the woman-that-wasn't-Robin cheekily replied.

She was beautiful, no doubt about that, but her beauty seemed…different. Ethereal, even. Almost as if the dice were rolled perfectly and in the woman's favor during her birth.

"Robin is currently out for the most of the day. Shouldn't return until sometime past midnight," the woman said, idly playing with a few strands of her black hair. "Since he can't really be in two places at once, I decided to…do him a favor." A quiet laugh escaped her lips as if she just said a joke. "Unfortunately, he didn't have an outfit for me to wear while running his store, so I had to wear one of his shirts. How's it look? Modified it a bit to suit my tastes."

Blake couldn't stop her eyes from taking in the woman's figure, which seemed to be accentuated by the modified version of Robin's work shirt. The top few buttons were loose, revealing a teasing amount of cleavage of her large bust, and the outfit's darker colors coupled with her black hair made her ivory-colored eyes all the more striking.

In short, she had a body that both men and women would kill for, if not for different reasons.

"Heh, I'll take your faces and open mouths as an answer," the woman grinned. "You must be Blake, Ruby, and Yang, while that white one that just entered the store is Weiss. Am I correct?"

Weiss froze in her tracks as she noticed the stranger. "Beg pardon?"

"Am I correct?" the woman repeated.

"Yes, you are. Who are you, if I might ask?"

"Oh, that's right, I never introduced myself!" The woman plopped a fist into her palm in a comical fashion. "I'm an old acquaintance of Robin. A friend, you could say, even if he doesn't want to admit it. As for my name? Well…you may call me 'Thana'."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Thana," Weiss said.

"And a _pleasure_ to meet you as well, Team RWBY." Thana held back another laugh. "Robin has told me a bit about you four, including your usual orders from the past month. Would you like the same things?"

The four of them nodded and Thana snapped her fingers. One hot chocolate, cappuccino, mocha, and a tea appeared in front of the respective drinkers along with a Sweet's Thief for each of them.

"Woah. Was not expecting that," Yang muttered.

"That was like what Robin does!" Ruby exclaimed.

"Oh please, don't lump my skill set with his," Thana scoffed, placing a hand on her hip. "Our abilities aren't even remotely similar."

"Speaking of Robin, where is he?" Blake asked, taking a sip of her tea. It was good, yes, but not as good as Robin's. She didn't know what it was exactly, but there was a minor difference in the taste.

Thana raised an amused eyebrow at Blake as she shifted her body weight onto one leg. "Well, _sorry_ that I haven't mastered the art of crafting drinks as he has."

Blake nearly spat out her drink. How did she know what she was thinking?

"Your face says it all. And to answer your question, he's…"

 _ **. . .**_

"" _It's only a new Grimm,"_ she said. _"It shouldn't too hard to kill,"_ she said. _"You should be used to fighting dragons now,"_ she said."

Robin pushed off a few boulders that attempted to bury him alive. Standing up with a pained groan, he brushed the dust off his clothes as he stared at the monstrous being in front of him. A pair of malicious red eyes glared back.

"I don't care if this Grimm is only a fraction of Grima's size. I don't care if I fought that dragon god and killed it. I killed its avatar by exploiting its fatal weakness because I just so happened to be its Heart. I never fought the actual thing," he grumbled, warily eyeing the dragon Grimm's movements. "I don't care if I got my ass kicked around by other dragons in other worlds. Dragons are never fun to fight, Death!"

The draconic Grimm roared and black flames began gathering in its maw.

"That was a compliment, you overgrown lizard! I'm saying you're a pain in the ass to kill!"

Then a torrent of flames washed over him.

 _ **. . .**_

"…He's just hunting down a couple of Grimm. Not too big of a deal," Thana answered. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I've things to do. Call me if you need anything, okay~?"

"Oh, right. He used to be a Huntsman, right?" Yang put her elbows on the table as Thana walked away to another pair of customers. "He's always running this place and never really looked like he used to be one. He's always more goofy than serious."

Weiss nodded as she set down her cup. "Were it not for Pyrrha telling us herself that Robin managed to single-handedly beat her entire team at once, I would not have believed it. Then again, he did say that he was part of the militia group in the past."

"Why do you think he stopped being one? I mean, Huntsmen are heroes, right?"

"It could be for a variety of reasons, Ruby," Weiss said. "Some Huntsmen retire because of injuries. Some because of age. Some because they simply get tired of fighting."

 _ **. . .**_

"I swear I'm getting too old for this." Robin rolled his shoulders and there were a few _cracks_ that sounded from the middle of his ribcage. "…Case in point. I try to loosen my shoulders and end up cracking my chest. Lovely."

A little ways in front of him, the dragon was slowly rising from a new crater in the ground, courtesy of Robin. Stubborn bastard.

 _ **. . .**_

"Pretty sure we can rule out that second one and maybe the third. He looks like he's…what, mid-twenties-ish?" Yang guessed, twiddling her spoon in her hand. "Unless he's much older than he looks, I don't think that'd be the reason."

"Then an injury? Though I guess that would be kinda hard to check," Ruby said.

Blake frowned as she disagreed. "I don't think so. If he retired from an injury, then why would he have asked JNPR for a duel? I can't imagine a four-against-one fight would be easy, especially if Ren and Pyrrha are on the same team."

"What do you think then?" Yang asked.

There was a brief flash of memory of a train and leaving someone behind. She shook her head to clear the memory before speaking.

"…I don't know," Blake half-lied. Speaking her mind would only bring the group's mood down. Instead, she decided to steer the topic of conversation away from depressing topics. "Going back to what Thana said earlier, what sort of Grimm do you think Robin's fighting?"

"Who knows? Could be a pack of Beowolves or Ursai," Weiss nonchalantly said.

"No way. He _has_ to be fighting something BIG!" Ruby threw her arms into the air to exaggerate her point. "He beat JNPR without even being hit once! He has to be fighting a really big Grimm!"

 _ **. . .**_

Thunder rolled through the clouds and a large bolt of lightning descended from the sky. The entire mountainside lit up in a brilliant flash of gold and the dragon Grimm's roar of pain sent shockwaves through the air.

"Son of a manakete's piss! Why. Won't. You. Die?!"

Bolts of lightning crashed onto the dragon with each word. After taking in a deep breath, he pooled mana into his hands and more lightning began crackling between his fingers. His mana reserves took a dip as he weaved the Spellcraft into a golden spear that was nearly three meters in length. The very edges were tinged with a darker, purple energy.

After taking a second to aim, Robin hurled the lightning spear at the Grimm, causing the mountainside to light up once more.

 _ **. . .**_

Yang laughed at her younger sister's antics. "Maybe he's fighting a Nevermore or two, Alpha or Ultra ranked. Y'know, with his team."

"Team?"

"Yeah, like us." Yang nodded. "Every school has their students graduate in teams of four, right? So I'm pretty sure Robin called up his team for this hunt."

"Oooh! What do you think they're like?" Ruby squealed. Blake could practically see stars in her eyes. "What kind of weapons do you think they use? Do you think they'd let me see them? Do you think Robin will introduce us to them? What do you think they're like?"

"You asked the same question twice, Rubes."

 _ **. . .**_

Robin watched as the dragon buckled in the air, throwing off its unwanted passenger. There was the familiar tug on his core as he warped across the mountainside, catching his falling teammate and warping safely back onto the earth.

"Ahahaha, that was fun! Thanks for the catch, Robin!"

And then Snow was off again, shooting across the ground like a white bullet and towards the now-grounded dragon.

A headache started to form in his head, and it wasn't due to the Grimm.

 _ **. . .**_

"You think Thana's - uh…actually, scratch that. She wouldn't be here if she was a member of Robin's team."

"I know I said that he could be with his team, but maybe Robin _flies_ solo. Eh~?"

Out of the four members seated at the table, only one started laughing. The other three did the opposite.

"Ignoring the terrible pun, there could be a chance that Robin hunts solo, despite its numerous disadvantages," Weiss said. "There are teams that have members slowly start to settle down and start a family. The ones that don't usually continue to hunt the Grimm, and Robin may be one of them."

"Oh, would the four of you relax?" Thana suddenly drawled from next to them, startling the seated members. "Robin has a buddy with him and they'll be fine. The two of them fought worse things than the Grimm on their hunt in the past, both as a team and solo. If you want proof, does 'Hundred Heads' ring any bells?"

"Hundred Heads…?" Weiss' eyes narrowed before widening in recognition. "Isn't that the name for Ladon? The Grimm that wiped out the town of Bellshore?"

"Ladon?" Ruby's brow furrowed in confusion. "What's a Ladon?"

"I'm honestly not surprised that you haven't heard of it," Blake said. "It's a unique type of Grimm; a dragon with a hundred heads. It was only seen once years ago, which was when it destroyed the town of Bellshore to nothing."

"Wait a sec. Bellshore? As in Bellshore's Fall?" Yang asked.

Blake nodded. "The one and the same."

"I heard about that. They say that it was one of the most devastating Grimm attacks," Yang grimaced.

"And that's not wrong. Within a single hour, Ladon was able to wipe out the entire population there, including the two veteran Huntsmen teams that were stationed in the town. By the time four teams arrived in response to their SOS, it was too late. The fight with Ladon lasted for three days with five more teams coming in as reinforcements, and at the end, Ladon was only wounded enough to retreat."

"It was also one of the worst hunts in Remnant," Weiss added as Blake finished speaking. "Four SOS response teams, five backup teams, and two that were originally stationed there. That's forty-four veteran Huntsmen that fought Ladon and only eight of them returned alive. Six more died within the week due to its venom." She grimly shook her head. "Two survivors out of forty-four. A survival rate of 4.54% repeated."

"Wait a sec!" Yang slammed her hands onto the table. "Thana, you said that Robin fought Ladon, right?"

Thana shrugged. "I insinuated it, never specifically said it. But yes, he was one of the first response teams to the SOS."

All four members of RWBY fell silent as they all came to the same conclusion.

"Robin is one of the two survivors…" Ruby depressingly said.

"…And the other?" Yang asked after a bit of hesitation.

Weiss shook her head. "The two survivors wished to remain anonymous, which is perfectly understandable. The only ones who know the names of the Huntsmen that participated in Bellshore's Fall are the families of the deceased." Her eyes suddenly widened. "Wait, how old is Robin?"

"Truly a secret admirer," Yang teased.

"Not that, you dolt," Weiss immediately said. "You said that Robin looks no older than his mid-twenties, yet Bellshore's Fall was ten years ago. For simplicity's sake, let's say Robin is twenty-five. That means he was just about Ruby's age during that time!"

"Oh, that?" Thana started laughing to herself. "Robin is older than he looks. If you want to know his age, you'll have to get it out of him, not me. I'll just say that it has to do with his…genetics."

"I…see…" Weiss muttered. Then her eyes widened for the second time in the span of a minute. "So _that's_ why his tactics book had so much information on Ladon! I thought Robin somehow managed to track down one of the survivors for an interview!"

"Tactics book?" Blake raised a questioning eyebrow. Not even a second later, she managed to put two-and-two together and she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Of course. 'A Shepherd's Rest'. _'A Shepherd's Guide'_. How did I not realize it before…"

"That's the same reaction that I had," Weiss smiled.

"The writing style is almost the same too," Blake mumbled. "The same sense of self-questioning humor, nearly identical sentence structures, and similar use of imagery. I can't believe it took me this long to notice."

"To be fair, _A Shepherd's Guide_ and the _Divine and Fell_ are on opposite ends of the genre spectrum," Weiss reasonably said. "Had Robin not given me his journal, I don't think I would've figured it out, even if the _Shepherd_ was a cafe owner."

"Uhh…" Yang and her sister looked positively confused. "What are you two talking about?"

Blake shared a quick smirk with Weiss.

"I do believe we should teach the uninitiated. What say you, Blake?"

"Yes. I believe we should, Weiss."

Although Blake didn't know it, a predatory grin formed on her face at that exact moment for reasons unknown.

 _ **. . .**_

There was a series of beeping noises from the screen. With a long sigh, Ozpin tapped the 'Answer' button, and a holographic image of a man in a white, military suit popped up on the screen.

 _"Ozpin."_

"James."

 _"Have you seen the images and the video that I sent you?"_ James asked.

"If you're talking about the ones attached to the file you just sent me, then no. It is quite impossible for me to check the images if you call me immediately after sending them. However…" Ozpin opened the aforementioned files. "…what, exactly, am I looking at?"

The images were mostly of a mountainside in various conditions. The first showed the mountain in what Ozpin assumed to be its original state, for the rest of the photos showed the same mountain, only there were a few craters in it. The last image displayed a much smaller mountain, and once he began playing the attached video, he quickly realized that it was…

 _"What you're looking at is Mt. Frey, or what remains of it,"_ James said.

"…When was this? What happened?" Ozpin asked.

 _"Last night."_

Ozpin tore his eyes away from the images to look at headmaster of Atlas Academy. "You mean to tell me that the top half of a mountain vanished _overnight_? A mountain that is located in the Dark Zone and out of reach of all but the most skilled Huntsmen?"

 _"That's exactly what I'm saying, and there hasn't been a request to enter the Dark Zone in almost a year. As for what happened, the video explains it, though I was hoping that you'd know what those two dots were that fought the dragon-type Grimm."_

As he continued to watch, Ozpin focused on two dots, one white and one black, that were pushing back a draconic Grimm that was easily the size of Beacon Academy. Golden streaks of light were fired off from the black dot while the white one moved at such a speed that Ozpin was staring at a white line at times. This continued for a little while until there was a bright flash from the darker dot and the feed suddenly cut off.

 _"That flash you saw at the end destroyed all of our cameras in the_ _vicinity_ _,"_ James said while rubbing his brow. _"All of our visual sources within a radius of five klicks gone in an instant."_

"You know as much as I do on the dots, I'm afraid," Ozpin half-lied.

In truth, he had an inkling as to what the dots were. At least, the white one. There was only one person that Ozpin knew that wore white and could move around at such a speed, but then again, _she's_ been dead for over a decade.

As for the black dot that seemed to throw lightning and created a flash that destroyed the last video camera and most likely erased the top portion of Mt. Frey? _That_ was the bigger problem.

His first guess was Salem, though it was very unlikely. Her powers were immeasurable, but she'd have no reason to fight a Grimm, especially not one that large and powerful.

His second guess was Robin, but that held as much weight as a fart in the wind. But at the same time, it was very easily the most reasonable guess. Though Robin never talked about his abilities nor did he put them on display, Ozpin knew a few things about him with certainty.

The first was that he was an absolute anomaly. Appearing out of nowhere without any background or DNA matches. No Aura nor Semblance yet his abilities said otherwise. He had seen Robin use his Spellcraft for trivial and everyday tasks, but never on a grander scale. Who's to say that if he could warp from a cup of coffee from behind the counter and into his hand, he couldn't warp other larger things, such as a dragon and a mountainside?

The second was that he was seemingly ageless, as he participated in the fight against Ladon ten years ago, yet he had the looks of a man only a few years out of a Huntsman academy. Not to mention he looked the same as he did back then.

Worked for, or alongside, someone else. In his exact words, Robin participated in Ladon's fight because _"that insane woman forced - I mean, I'm doing someone a favor"_. Then he vanished alongside his mysterious companion -

Ozpin froze. Robin's companion back then was a white-robed woman who always wore a blank mask over her face. There was a white dot that fought alongside the darker dot in the video, and if the woman in white was the same, then the black dot was Robin. And if the white dot in the video moved very much like _her_ , then…

No. He shook his head. Summer had been dead for a long time. He had finally come to terms with it over a drink with Robin less than a week's time ago. Robin even confirmed that Summer and the masked woman were two different people. And unless he was a fantastic liar, one unlike any that Ozpin had seen in his entire life, then the cafe owner was not lying when he said he only heard of Summer Rose one time.

Plus, the masked woman wielded a double-ended spear that was able to shift into twinblade connected by a chain, as evident by her fight against Ladon. Summer, on the other hand, wielded two chain scythes with a half-moon blade. It never had a sword or a spear function, despite how similarly they wielded the twin weapons.

 _"Ozpin!"_

Ozpin blinked. He must've been lost in his thoughts again. "Yes, James?"

 _"I asked if you truly knew nothing,"_ James sighed. " _This isn't just a matter of simple security anymore. If two people were able to defeat a dragon-type Grimm within mere hours, then they are a danger to us all!"_

" _Potential_ danger," Ozpin reasoned. "We have no need to fear them if they are on our side."

 _"There is no guarantee that they will be on our side."_

"There's no guarantee that they won't be against us either, James. Keep an open mind. If you approach every unknown variable with the intent to subdue them, they are not going to want to help you. However, if you approach said unknown peacefully and without aggression, giving them the benefit of the doubt, then they will be far more willing to listen to your cause."

If the phrase, "glaring daggers", was to be taken literally, Ozpin was sure that he'd be saying, "Et tu, James?", but alas, it was not literal. And since Ozpin wasn't dying from sharp objects, all James could do from behind his screen was defeatedly sigh.

"The Vytal Festival is almost upon us," Ozpin offhandedly said. "How soon can I expect you?"

 _"If everything runs smoothly, then next week, earliest,"_ James tiredly sighed.

Ozpin raised a curious eyebrow. "You seem to be quite vexed. Might I ask what it is?"

 _"Winter."_

"Ah." That one name explained a great deal.

 _"Despite her attempts to hide it, she is quite eager to see, not only her younger sister, but her old mentor again."_

"Mentor? I was under the assumption that Winter Schnee did not have a specified teacher."

 _"Unofficial mentor. She'll never admit it out loud, but she holds him in high regards."_

"Hm. Ever the enigma," Ozpin chuckled, putting two and two together. "He has no background yet he has a history here."

James nodded as he pulled up a screen next to him. _"Agreed. No DNA matches, no blood family, no official records of existence prior to Bellshore's Fall. If it wasn't for his participation in our recent large-scale Grimm exterminations, I would've had him detained the second he mysteriously appeared in the Specialists' barracks years ago, especially since he incapacitated most of my Specialists. If he were to be one of my Specialists and train everyone else up to his level, perhaps - "_ He suddenly paused as his face morphed into one of realization. _"Ozpin…you don't think that the black dot in the video is…"_

Ozpin said nothing as he took a sip of his coffee, causing the general to grumble under his breath. Taking out his scroll, he tapped a few buttons.

 _"I need to make a call."_

 _ **. . .**_

Somewhere else on Remnant, far from A Shepherd's Rest, the author of two certain series of books staggered backward by a few steps. The stunt he just pulled was one of Space's techniques, and as every technique that he learned from the immortals from the After, the toll on his body was unlike any other.

"Son of a mother, I'm drained." With a tired groan, Robin plopped down onto a pile of rubble. "I swear on the number of immortal beings in the After, were it not for Death possessing the abilities that she does, I'd never take a job from her again."

"Ahahaha, come on, Robin!" Snow gave him a bright grin and sat down beside him. "It wasn't too bad, was it? Ladon was a lot more difficult than this dragon. Then again, magic-ing away this place was a little overkill, in my opinion."

As if to emphasize her point, she nudged the dragon Grimm's claw that was on the ground. Its main body was gone entirely, with the only proof of its existence being the disintegrating claw.

"True, but Ladon was nowhere near as annoying. All it had was its hundred heads and venom. As long as you avoided its bites, you were safe. This stupid dragon here, on the other hand…" Robin shot a fireball at the detached claw and set it aflame, brightening the darkness of the night. "…was infinitely more tedious. Anything that can fly is annoying. If it wasn't for Space teaching me how to use her favorite move, then this would've dragged on for much longer."

A devious smirk appeared on Snow's lips. "Soooo…you're saying you're annoying? Seeing how you can use Flight Spellcraft to fly?"

Robin was silent for a stunned second. Then his hand reached up and gripped the top of Snow's skull and began applying pressure. "You cheeky little brat."

"Atatatatatata! That hurts!" Snow whined and smacked his hand away. "And _"cheeky little brat"_?! I'm older than you!"

"Only physically," Robin grinned. "I'm still older than you mentally by quite a few years, little Snow."

"No fair! Just because you 'died' first!"

He raised a quizzical eyebrow. "Are you really complaining about the fact that you lived your first life longer than I did?"

"Wha - no no no!" Snow frantically waved her hands in front of her. "That's not what I meant and you know it!"

"Then perhaps you should try rephrasing that sentence into something closer to what you intended on saying," he sagely said.

"Hmph!" Snow crossed her arms and childishly pouted. "You only say that because you're an author."

"In other words, I'm smarter than you."

"This and that are two completely different things! And smarter than me? As if!" She smugly puffed out her chest. "Who was the one that graduated as the third highest on the student rankings at Beacon during their original life while also completely revamping their curriculum for the better? Who was the one that coordinated the attack on the Debellators back on Aeiros eight years ago and won by the time you arrived?"

"Third highest? I do believe bragging rights only go to those in first."

A dust of pink appeared on her cheeks. "I was third only because of the academic part, okay? I was first in combat!"

"Sure sure," Robin laughed, causing Snow to puff out her cheeks. "And to be fair, I never attended Beacon because I grew up in a different world and universe. And if you're going to play that card, who was the tactician that led an army that was two hundred thousand strong against an army of a million on a foreign land during his first life? _And_ was victorious with over seventy percent of the army still alive?"

"W-Well, my daughter was - "

"I assure you that you do _not_ want to enter daughter territory." Robin cut her off with a proud smile on his face. "In case you were planning listing off your daughter's accomplishments, allow me to go first. My daughter, Morgan, was able to create a completely new branch of Spellcraft on her own, which revolved around the concept of space. With only a few months of fiddling with it, she was able to create a pocket dimension to use as a storage that was available at anytime, anywhere.

"Not only that, a little after I was able to use her newly discovered Spacialcraft to teleport around by using the Spellcraft on myself and transporting my body to a different location, she was able to recreate the same effect with only a fraction of the mana cost. Instead of teleporting our body across distances, she was able to bend space itself to, simply put, shorten the distance between Point A to Point B."

"But that's different! Morgan delved into a subject that she was already well-versed in due to her family history!"

"Oh, and you're saying that your daughter wasn't? Growing up with a family of Huntsmen could do a lot for a child."

"So does growing up with a nerd father who spent so much his free time with his head stuck in a book that his daughter picked up that habit!"

"Would you like to be the pot or the kettle in this situation? Books were to me as weapons were to you."

"I swear on my irritating brother's life, the two of you somehow manage to act like an old, married couple while also acting as two competing parents that are flirting."

Death was suddenly standing in front of the two of them with her arms crossed beneath her chest. Rather, it wasn't that Death suddenly appeared before them, per se, but Robin and Snow were instantly teleported against their volition to Robin's lounge, right in front of Death.

"If I didn't know the two of you personally, I'd have thought you two to be some sort of divorced couple."

Robin rolled his eyes as he glanced over at the clock as he sat down in his circular chair. Half past the twenty-second hour. "I'm happily married already, thank you very much. I'm not looking to remarry anytime soon. No offense, Snow. You're a lovely woman. Perhaps in a different timeline."

"None taken," Snow nonchalantly replied.

"You're awfully loyal to a woman that you might never see again," Death noted. "Not saying it's a bad thing, but I brought you back nearly twenty-eight years ago, Robin. Anything could have happened in that time."

"Twenty-eight years ago in _our_ time. And I'm not talking about twenty-eight years on Remnant, but I'm talking about the way time works for _us_." Robin gestured at the three of them. "And besides, what would time matter if I could simply find that gate that Time and Space told me that they placed on every world."

"Hmm. Good luck with that," Death said. "The two of them don't exactly make their gates obvious to find, especially Space. The majority of her gates aren't on land. She said that her gates should be _"a challenge to find"_ and placed some in the depths of the sea, some in lakes of lava, and some in the damned sky. Depends on the world, honestly."

"Uwaaahhh, that sounds annoying," Snow said. "Scratch that - that just sounds tedious."

"That's a bit of an understatement," Death agreed. "Robin, searching for either one of their gates could take decades to find. Centuries, even."

"Guess I'm lucky then. Time isn't something that I need worry about," Robin said with a shrug of his shoulders. "Not only am I willingly unaging, I can ask either Space or Time to send me back to around the time I 'died'. Besides - "

 _*Bzzt*_

Robin's scroll vibrated in his pocket. His brow furrowed when he saw the caller ID.

"What in the world did you do to attract the attention Mister Sternface?"

"Mister Sternface?" Robin laughed. "That's good. I'm using it if you don't mind."

"Oh, you should hear Qrow's nicknames for Sternface," Snow grinned. "Most of them are more insults than nicknames, but there are a few that are pretty good. Like SUHA."

"Sooha?"

Snow shook her head. "No, not Sooha. SUHA! You know, S-U-H-A! Stands for _"stick-up-his-"_ "

"You should really answer SUHA's call," Death interjected, not bothering to hide the amused look she had on her face.

"Right." Robin tapped the answer button and angled his screen away from Snow and Death. "Hello?"

 _"Robin, it's me."_

"Who?"

 _"James."_

"James who."

Snow had a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter as James' eyes narrowed in irritation.

 _"James_ Ironwood _."_

"Ooohhhh! Mister Sternface!"

"HA!" A short burst of laughter managed to escape Snow's lips, stopped only by Death, who quickly clamped her mouth over her apprentice's mouth.

 _"Mister what? And is someone else there?"_

"Just a couple of guests, don't mind them," Robin casually replied with a grin. "So, what can I do for you, Mister Sternface?"

Mister Sternface's eyes narrowed even further but made no further indication of hearing the nickname for him. _"Where are you at this moment?"_

"Home."

 _"Where?"_

"In…Vale's commercial district?" Robin answered as if it was a trick question. "Where else would my home be?"

 _"I see."_ James nodded once before he leaned forward a little, ignoring Robin's question. Through the screen, it just looked as if he brought his scroll closer to his face. _"And did you leave your house at all today?"_

"Can't say I have any recollection of walking out of my house today," Robin answered. He glanced over James shoulder and saw the familiar visage of a certain coffee addict. "Oh, and by the way, tell Four-Eyes behind you that I send him my regards and that I'm going to force-feed him stale coffee."

Not even the ever-stoic James Ironwood was able to keep a straight face upon seeing Ozpin's look of horror and confusion.

 _"Robin, why?"_ Ozpin cried out. The fact that his voice managed to carry over from his end of the call, through James scroll, and out of Robin's was a testament to the quality of the scrolls themselves.

"In short, I made a promise to myself on that night you sent me those two videos. The promise was that if the messages were something stupid, I was going to force-feed you stale coffee. I'm merely holding up my end of the bargain."

 _"Of a promise that you made with yourself? About me? Without my consent?"_

"I fail to see how that's my problem."

 _"It is most definitely entirely your problem if you made a one-sided promise with you being the only - "_

"Anyhow, James." Robin cut him off and looked back at the general. "Is there anything else that you wish to ask of me? Any further answers that you were looking for?"

There was a brief pause. _"Actually, yes. In almost every instance of a large-scale Grimm extermination, you made an appearance with another; a person in a white robe and always in a blank mask."_

"Oh crap, you can see her?"

 _"What?"_

"Nothing, nothing," Robin quickly said.

 _"No, it is not 'nothing',"_ James glowered. _"What did you mean by - "_

"Oh, would you look at that? It looks like it's I-said-nothing-o'clock and I must now take my leave. Have a pleasant evening, Mister Sternface, Mister Four-Eyes."

 _"Robin, don't you dare - "_

That was as far as James got before Robin ended the call. His scroll vibrated again with the caller ID once again being the general, but he ignored it and tossed the device away after putting it on silent mode.

"It's not good to lie, Robin," Snow frowned.

Robin placed a hand over his heart in mock pain. "Me? Lie? Never!"

"You never stepped out of your house today?"

"I said that I don't have any recollection of 'walking out of my house today', Snow, not that I never left my house. And it's not a lie since Death over here decided to teleport us across Remnant from my room. Wording matters."

"Then what was that about them being able to see me?" Snow asked. "I'm not some ethereal being, you know. Everyone can see me just fine. Like how everyone can see you."

"Oh, I'm well aware. Bellshore's Fall is known for having only _two_ survivors, the two being you and me," Robin laughed. "I just said that just to throw them off and to mess with them. Best if they don't figure out who you were in your original life. You _are_ dead in this world, after all. It's also the reason why you picked up a new weapon."

Snow let out a long and tired sigh. "Yeah, I know." Then her face brightened as she unslung her swords from her back. "And technically, this isn't a new weapon. I had two ideas for weapons to use as a Huntress, but I was only allowed to craft one at the time. And since that one kinda…you know…broke, I thought I'd make and use my second weapon idea."

"And because I told you that if you wanted to act as one of my Reapers in Remnant, you'd have to get a weapon that was different from your previous one," Death added. "I offered you a scythe since I use one, as does your old teammate and your daughter, but you declined."

"Yeah, because my design is a LOT cooler than some simple scythe!" Snow huffed, causing Death to glare at her in indignation. " I mean, look at White Fury! Right now, it's twin swords connected by a chain at the pommels, but by doing this - " She pressed the pommels of her swords against each other and twisted the handles. There was an audible _click_ before the swords' hilts moved down the length of the blade, stopping roughly six inches before the tip. " - it becomes a double-ended spear! How cool is that! While a scythe is just a curved blade attached to a stick."

"To be fair, almost every weapon is like that…" Robin muttered.

"No, not all weapons are like that!"

"A knife is just a sharp piece of metal attached to a small stick. A sword is a knife but a bigger piece of metal. A spear is a knife but just with a really long stick for the handle."

Snow crossed her arms underneath her chest. "There are many things wrongs with what you said just now."

"A gun is just a knife too."

The look she had on her face was one that Robin wished he took a photo of.

"Explain," Snow demanded.

"Very well, if you insist. If you think about it, the entire gun itself is just a really fancy handle for a knife. While it was originally longer, the grip just bent at some one-hundred-degree angle and was hollowed out, creating the barrel of the "gun". The blade was broken down into much smaller pieces, called "bullets", and stuffed into a container that fits into the knife's grip."

"There are _so_ many things wrong with what you just said."

"And a rocket launcher isn't much different either. It's just a really big and hollow knife handle that fires off a strangely shaped blade that holds Dust inside," Robin sagely said. "And those laser-beam swords that are used in the movie _"Sun Wars"_? It's just a knife that has a really small blade that moves up and down a set length at a blinding speed. The bright colors of blue, green, purple, and red are from the neon paint that all of the knife blades have, along with some special effects."

Snow was now holding her head in her hands. "No. Just…no… That's… That's not how…"

"I think you broke her, Robin," Death noted with mild amusement on her face. "Impressive. Normally, the roles would be reversed."

"I did no such thing. All I did was give an answer to her wish for an explanation. It is not my fault that her mind was unable to withstand such brilliance and wisdom."

"Disregarding your stupidity and idiocy - "

"Brilliance and wisdom," he corrected.

" _Stupidity_ and _idiocy_ ," Death slowly repeated. Her eyes flashed dangerously and Robin kept his silence. "Robin wasn't entirely wrong in keeping you out of the picture, Snow. You _died_ years ago, and while you may not have been entirely famous, you still had a large effect on everyone you met. Suddenly coming back to life now... I can't say it'll have the best repercussions, but the end call isn't up to him. If you want to reveal yourself and your identity to Remnant, that's your choice. I stationed _you_ as the Reaper of this world."

"If Snow's the Reaper, then what am I?" Robin curiously asked.

"An extra." "An annoyance."

The two women shared a pleased look with each other.

"Ouch. The two of you strike me deep in the heart," the extra annoyance drawled, placing a hand over his chest in mock pain.

"Suck it up, you extra," Snow grinned before looking at Death with a melancholic face. "I know that I died and I know of the repercussions that could potentially happen if I miraculously come back to life. But my family…"

Robin completely understood. If he was in her position, alive but unable to freely interact with his family, a family that believes he's been dead for years, he would be torn.

"Might I suggest a solution to this problem?" he offered. "The Vytal Festival is not far away from now. It's a time where everyone gathers to celebrate the many cultures of Remnant. Who's to say that a culture where one has a celebration to commemorate the dead does not exist? To remember those who have passed?"

Death raised an impressed eyebrow. "Huh, would you look at that. You actually can have good ideas from time to time."

"I take offense to that."

"It was meant to offend you."

"Go jump off the Edge in the After."

"Did that. Still here. Besides, your idea still poses the problem of her coming back to Remnant. Things could get worse for her family if word gets out to those that killed her in the first place."

He nonchalantly waved his hand. "That won't be a problem if she simply visits for a short while. Snow could tell her family that she's been on a long-term job, which isn't exactly a lie, and that she could only visit once every blue moon. Keep the reunion small, short, and sweet, omit a few details on what she actually does and her death, and there shouldn't be any problems."

"Robin, that's brilliant!" Snow grinned brightly and tackled him in a hug. "Thank you so much!"

Robin was unable to breathe due to the arms that were crushing his lungs. Thankfully, Snow released him and placed her arms on her hips in a classic superhero pose.

"It's decided! During the Vytal Festival, after my daughters inevitably win the tournament, I shall announce myself to my family! Summer Rose shall be deceased no more!"

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Yup. Summer Rose is alive. Well, not really** _ **alive**_ **alive, but alive enough.**

 **I'm pretty sure the most difficult part of writing this chapter was the text messaging part at the start. It's been years, and I mean literal** _ **years**_ **, that I forgot how to "text" like…to not write and type properly/formally. I had to constantly "correct" myself by getting rid of commas, periods, shortening words into a single letter (you|u, are|r), and use "LOL". It was painful to purposefully type incorrectly and misspell words.**

 **I suppose that's why some people told me that I, and I quote,** _ ** _"sound_ so serious when I text,"**_ **and whatnot. And old. They said I sound old. I'm nowhere near the age of being old!**

… **I say they're lying.**

 **In (somewhat) seriousness, me forgetting how to "text" isn't a lie. If I do use abbreviations, it'll be far and few in between. Curse of being a writer, I suppose.**

 **And Robin's words to Snow/Summer,** _"Perhaps in a different timeline."_ **Perhaps indeed.  
Maybe.**

 **Uh, easter egg part area. And some trivia.  
** **\- 8man from Oregairu.**  
 **\- Halo CE, Smash Bros, and Fate's Holy Grail War.**  
 **\- Fisher Cu and his two "friends".**  
 **\- FGO and AL.**  
 **\- Death's alias, Thana, is derived from Thanatos, the Greek God of Death.**  
 **\- Ladon is a dragon with 100 heads from Greek mythology. Guardian of the Hesperides, slain by Heracles.**  
 **\- Summer's weapon is based** **off of Dishwasher1910's artwork. || Link (remove spaces): dishwasher1910 / art / RWBY - Summer - Rose - 573679739**  
 **\- Snow's weapon (spear/twin-sword hybrid) and mask is a shameless reference / self-advert to another story of mine** , _ **"Her Favorite Story".**_ **  
\- Sun Wars || Star Wars.**

 _ **. . .**_

 **As for the thing I talked about in the beginning A.N.? I'm actually a little low on ideas for** _ **A Shepherd's** **Rest.**_ **Not empty, per se, but low enough that I only have ideas for two, maybe three, more chapters at this current time. And s** **o, I turn to all of you, my readers/followers/favoriters/whatever you call yourselves. My question/proposition (experimental) is:**

 **|| Would you rather have me shoot out slightly slower-ish updates as I gather thoughts and ideas for _Shepherd_? (notice how this chapter took a little longer than the previous iterations of ~1 chapter/month) ||**

 **Or**

 **|| Would you guys rather have me collect some ideas/prompts from you, the readers, and weave a story chapter out of what you send me and have potentially faster updates? (I say "potentially" because of many reasons. To reference the beginning of this chapter, life can be a fickle thing) ||**

 **Once again, this is all experimental and still _very_ much up in the air. I ask this because it's you readers that get the most enjoyment out of this. You guys know what you want, while I only think that I know what you want. If you guys decide on the second option of me taking ideas from you readers, I'll start taking ideas starting from the next chapter (Ch8) onwards. If not, then that'll be it. Simple as that.**

 **I've been thinking of doing something like this ever since typing out Chapter 5 of _Shepherd_ , specifically, after realizing that _A Shepherd's Rest_ was at the top of follows and favorites on the RWBYxFE section (still boggles my mind). As like a "Hey, you guys really like this story for some odd reason that I can't understand, so why not tell me what you want" sort of deal.**

 **So, yeah. That's my questionable proposition.** **Strawpoll is up in my profile underneath _A Shepherd's Rest_ 's synopsis (it's finally up properly!). It'll be up for…I'd like to say one or two weeks? It'll be up for some amount of time, so vote if you want to, don't vote if you don't want to. We'll see how it goes.**

 **If you read this far, many thanks. I may not know if you got here, but I appreciate it nonetheless. I shall see you in the coming chapters.**


	8. The Sheep and the Cat

**So. Kingdom Hearts 3. Feels like the end of an era.**

 **On a different note, the votes are in from the idea mentioned in the previous chapter.  
Result: I continue on as normal with my own ideas.**

 **Thank you to all that voted!**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

A vein threatened to pop up on Robin's forehead. Despite standing far away from the surrounding crowd, he could hear their voices - their whispers; their uncertainty of a mere cafe owner standing in front of them.

He heard all of this, but it wasn't the cause for his annoyance. That reason went to someone else.

"You owe me for this one, Glynda," Robin growled as he unfolded his arms. "Not only did I have to shut down my shop for a day just because you decided to get sick, you're making me take your teaching spot at Beacon. I didn't even think you could even get sick." He could practically _see_ Ozpin's smug look in his head. "Might as well get this song and dance over with."

The moment he took a single step forward, the whispers died down as every eye landed on him. He took out his scroll from his pocket and opened up a file from Glynda before looking back at the students. With a simple cast of stationary Windcraft, he kept his scroll afloat in midair.

"So!" Robin brought his hands together and looked around. "It is to my knowledge that it is during their third year that Beacon students begin venturing out on official Grimm hunts, despite having a few during the latter half of the second years. I was given a report on a few details on all of your missions, and after reading them over, I must say…" A few of the students leaned forward, eager to hear his next words. "All of you are stupid! Is there something wrong with all of your heads?"

Over half of the students flinched from his unexpected criticisms. Not caring about their reactions, Robin put up a quick review of one of the student teams hunts on the large screen that would usually display the fighters' Aura levels.

"For example, Team GLCR! Just last month, your team fought a Goliath up the Vera Mountain Range, yes? Everyone knows that they are slow, heavy, and extremely powerful, so the fact that the single village that was there was already evacuated is an admirable feat. I applaud you on keeping the casualty count at zero."

The four students proudly smiled under Robin's praise. That smile vanished the next second.

"However, what were you thinking during that time?" Robin continued, bringing up a topographic map of the Vera Mountains. "Had your team led the Goliath west instead of east, there would have been no need to evacuate the village at all! Furthermore, Goliaths are known to have difficulty while traversing downward slopes, slopes that are abundant in the range west of the village! A single, well-placed attack on their legs would have downed them easily on the slopes!

"And Team SCLT, why in the world would you fight a nest of Deathstalkers in the _only_ desert-like area of the Tycross Territory? They're scorpions! They can burrow into the sand and hit your blindsides! You could've moved two klicks south to the riverlands and had a _much_ easier time!"

Robin continued criticizing multiple third-year teams on their recent performances while also pointing out things that they could fix or improve upon. Twenty minutes later, a devious grin formed on his face as he called out the last team.

"Team SKVS!" Robin bellowed, causing the four of them to stiffen in their seats. "Specifically, Shiro! While I will not shoot down the prospect of keeping the mood light during missions by playing a game, there is a time and place for everything! Holding a game to see how many more Grimm you can kill than the other while escorting injured to the nearest medical personnel is a _terrible_ example! What's worse is that you didn't even win your game! You lost to Kiragi by over a dozen scores!"

Multiple snickers could be heard throughout the combat arena, causing Shiro's ears to go red.

"However, all of that is neither here nor there. All of that was simply me advising all of you on tactics, but in the end, this is a combat class. With that said…" Robin turned the screen off. "I'm sure that all of you are well aware that the Grimm are not the only threat out there in the world. There are criminals, bandits, and rogue huntsmen that will not listen to reason. There is no doubt that you will come across them in the future, so today, I will be testing you. _All_ of you."

More murmurs filled the air as Robin pulled a sword out of his dimensional storage. It was very simple in make, being a Chon'sin variant with its single-edged blade. The scabbard and handle were of a 'shirasaya' make, completely made of wood with no finish to it, and had no guard, or 'tsuka'. It was a sword that was more or less meant to be a decorative weapon and hung up on display - one that would usually never see combat. Usually.

"Now then, Shiro." Robin drew the blade from its sheath, causing the beautifully crafted metal to gleam in the arena floor lighting. "Seeing how you still owe me a table for breaking mine a month ago, why not bring your team down here? Beat me and I'll forget the table. Lose? Well… I'll decide your punishment later. Let's see how you fare against an experienced fighter."

Robin didn't know it due to him being unable to see his own face, but he was sporting a terrifying grin on his lips. It was at that moment that all the third-year teams in the arena realized that, sometimes, a human being could be the most terrifying monster in the world.

 _ **. . .**_

The entire cafeteria was buzzing with excitement. Not even the tables that seated teams JNPR and RWBY were exempt from this as Yang dropped down onto the table.

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?" Jaune asked.

"Professor Goodwitch has fallen ill, so we'll be having a substitute combat teacher for the unforeseeable future," Weiss answered.

"Oh. That's…neat."

"I know, right!?" Yang grinned. "I hear he's a damn good fighter, recruited by Headmaster Ozpin himself! The third-year teams that weren't on any missions fought him earlier this morning, and they were all beaten!"

A slight frown marred Pyrrha's face. "That sounds a little worrisome if I'm to be honest. Beacon's third and fourth years are all experienced huntsmen and have been taking field missions from the latter half of their second years. They may just be students, but they are more than capable of handling themselves in a fight."

"That's why I'm so excited! Aside from our teachers, how many people do we know can handle a huntsmen team on their own?"

For a brief moment, Jaune was reminded of a certain cafe owner that single-handedly beat his team a month ago. He shook his head. There was no way that their substitute teacher and Robin would be one and the same.

Never before in his life had he been more wrong.

That very man was standing in the center of the arena floor with a holographic tablet in his hand. Judging from the extensive swiping motions he was making, he was most likely scrolling through a list of sorts. After a few more seconds of scrolling, his brow furrowed at the screen as he mumbled something to himself.

"Team C-R-D-L…the hell kind of color would be comprised of those letters?"

The members of the aforementioned team froze in their seats. They, just as everyone else, definitely heard the rumors of the third-year teams' resounding losses.

"Hmm…the only word that comes into mind right now is "cradle", but that's not a color. Where's Sumia when I need her? She's the expert on colors, not me." Robin exasperatedly shook his head. "Ozpin, you senile, four-eyed, assface… What the shit. At least put the actual name of the team in here somewhere!"

There were a few gasps from the students as they heard the cafe owner openly curse their headmaster.

"Screw it. Team C-R-D-L, get your barely-passing-combat-class asses down here! And Team…what the - What kind of color can you get from the letters 'P', 'H', 'L', 'X'? Phalanx? What kind of color would that be? Is that a reference to the ancient Spartans? If so, what color would that be? Bronze or red? Did they even exist in this world?"

That last line was muttered under his breath so that none of the students heard him. Not even the multiple faunus caught it with their enhanced hearing.

"I-It's phlox," one student from Jaune's right quietly said. "It's a pinkish-purple color."

Robin didn't hear the student's comment, evident by his next line. "Team P-H-L-X! You get your strangely named team down here as well!"

A few minutes later, the barely-passing-combat-class team and the strangely named team were standing single-file in front of Robin. After a quick glance at all of them, he walked to the center of the arena floor and pulled out a wooden sword out of nowhere. It was plain in design, had a slightly curved 'blade', and didn't have a guard. It looked more like a smooth, curved stick than anything else.

"Question for all of you in this place." Robin placed the tip of his sword on the ground and began tracing a circle around him. "What is the biggest advantage you have at your disposal in your teams? Your biggest strength?" He looked up after tracing the circle, which was now brilliantly glowing. "It's teamwork. Didn't expect that, did you?

"As cliche as this may sound, there is no "I" in "team". You either stand together and win, or fall alone. If you coordinate with each other, you can tackle challenges that would normally be too big for you to take down alone. Up until now, Professor Goodwitch had all of you fight each other in pairs or in a one-on-one scenario. Today, I'm going to see how efficiently your teams can work together. Or how inefficiently, perhaps."

"Hmph, a cafe owner wants to teach Huntsmen how to fight?" Cardin of barely-passing-combat-class scoffed. "This'll be good."

A few students in the stands nervously laughed with the other three members of CRDL, not wanting to draw the ire of the lone man who handled their senior classmen. Teams RWBY and JNPR, on the other hand, shook their heads. One team learned of Robin's past feats and the other experienced his skills firsthand.

"Why, Mister Winchester! I was going to have Team P-H-L-X go first, but you've convinced me to change my mind!" Robin icily smiled at the arrogant student. "Thank you for volunteering your team to be the example for today! Your assignment is to get me to take a single step out of this circle. Do that and you pass. Simple, right?"

Cardin pushed his way forward with a smug grin on his face. "Hmph. This should be easy." He then rushed towards Robin with his mace in hand, leaving the rest of his teammates behind.

As Cardin continued to run at Robin, the substitute teacher stood still with a shocked look on his face. Thinking that the look was due to surprise at his actions, Cardin's grin grew wider and he reared his weapon back in preparation for a wide swing.

Robin still wasn't moving.

"What is he doing?!" Weiss hissed.

And then a vein of anger and annoyance comically popped up on Robin's forehead.

"You impertinent _fool_!"

In a smooth motion, Robin stepped in, avoiding the "head" of Cardin's mace, and grabbed the shaft of the large weapon. Using the momentum to his advantage, he effortlessly tossed Cardin behind him like a ragdoll.

"Naive! Simpleton! You thick-headed buffoon!" Robin roared from inside his circle while shaking his sword in Cardin's direction. "Did you not hear a single word I said about teamwork?!"

Cardin growled and stood to his feet. With his cheeks red from either anger or embarrassment, he charged Robin again. He didn't even get a chance to swing his weapon as Robin's wooden sword smacked his forehead in a flash.

"Foolish child!" _*Whap*_ "Halfwit!" _*Whap*_ "Do you not - " _*Whap*_ "- know - " _*Whap*_ "- how - " _*Whap*_ "- to - " _*Whap*_ "- listen?!" _*Whap*_

Every time Robin's sword struck a different part of Cardin's body, every other student in the arena couldn't help but wince a little.

"Argh!" Cardin staggered backward. "Stop hitting me!"

"Stop being an impatient child and utilize that mass of muscle inside your skull, no matter how small it is! Even a young Beowolf has more sense than you!" Robin then turned to the other three members of Team CRDL, causing them to tense up on the spot, despite being far away from the instructor. "And you three! Why were you simply standing there when my back was turned to you? Flanking maneuvers and exploiting your opponent's blind spots is Combat 101!

"Now, come!" Robin raised his wooden sword at the other students in the ring. At the sudden movement of the weapon, all seven of them flinched, looking at the sword with abject terror. "If you have already forgotten such basics, I will drill them back into you! If your fear is staying your feet, then your assignment of getting me to step out of this circle will be postponed as I beat the fear out of you!"

In a few video games that Jaune played, specifically the more turn-based strategy ones, the bosses for each level was usually a unit to be cautious of. On higher difficulties, bosses were units that he was fearful of due to their higher stats that bordered on being broken. The silver lining was that these boss characters were usually stationary, not moving from a certain spot on their map.

Keyword: usually.

Jaune still remembered the surprise and terror that he felt when a boss in one of the levels _moved_. Ever since that fateful day of getting his characters annihilated by a moving boss and having to replay that level over a few dozen times, that ever-present fear of a 'what if' lingered in his mind.

So, when he saw the remaining members of Cardin's team blindly rush forward at Robin, who was still inside his little circle, he understood their fear. It was one thing to fight against a boss-like person who was stationary, but it was something else _entirely_ to fight said boss-like person who was mobile.

"Damn." Yang whistled and crossed her arms. "Never thought I'd see the day that Robin the Shepherd become Robin the Demonic Drill Instructor."

" _'Shepherd'_?" Ruby curiously asked, her eyes not leaving the one-sided beatdown in the arena.

"Yeah, cause he owns A Shepherd's Rest," Yang replied.

"Oh. Makes sense."

Jaune watched as chunks of Team CRDL's Aura meters dropped with each blow they received. Russel, Sky, and Dove's Auras were already in the yellow, and Cardin, who had an impressive amount of Aura, was nearing the red area.

"Who knew that a wooden sword could be so deadly," he muttered.

And then the blood-chilling thought of having the same happen to him hit Jaune like a truck.

 _ **. . .**_

Jaune's muscles groaned in protest as he changed into his uniform. His body was sore all over and every movement hurt, which was a feeling shared by everyone else in the locker room. What's worse was that, for all the pain that he and his team suffered, they hadn't even come close to getting Robin out of his circle.

The impromptu cafe owner was like a wall, both solid and gaseous at the same time. Most attacks with weapons would easily be parried by his stick of pain and destruction, and heavier blows would be rendered useless like Cardin's initial blow.

Bullets were equally as useless as well. Jaune's first idea was to distract him with bullets so that Nora could smash him out of the circle with a single blow. Upon execution, however, they found out that the glowing circle would deflect any and all bullets that entered it. The result was Nora being thrown across the arena floor.

Jaune tried a few more ideas after that, ranging from logical and sound to absolutely ridiculous. His last-ditch effort was for him to be a human cannonball, despite everyone's better judgment. Nora would throw him with her herculean strength and Pyrrha would use her Polarity to accelerate him even further while Ren kept Robin distracted.

With a sigh, Jaune rubbed the top of his head. He could feel a lump that wasn't there before the cannonball attempt. At least the idea surprised Robin, even if it was just for a fraction of a second. Unfortunately, that didn't help any as he bent his body backward to avoid the Jaune-ball. Robin said that he almost got hit by the Jaune-ball, and that it was the closest that any team got to getting him out of the circle, but the thought didn't really help with the growing welt on Jaune's head.

The only other team that got close to getting Robin out of the circle was RWBY, and they had a better strategy with their attempt. Weiss' glyphs weren't affected by Robin's circle like how bullets were, and she was able to encase him in ice while Blake blocked his vision with her clones. Before he was able to break free, she created a gravity glyph above him to loosen his footing on the ground while Yang and Ruby would land a solid strike on the instructor.

It almost worked. A shattered ice block and broken gravity glyph later, Weiss received a wooden sword thrown to her face, Blake's real body took a kick to the chest, and Yang's fist was redirected into Ruby's scythe. No other attempt got even close to the first one, and they were unable to move Robin within the time limit.

Someone tapped his shoulder, bringing him out of his reverie. "Jaune?"

"Huh?" Jaune looked up and saw Ren standing next to him.

"Are you alright?" Ren asked. "You've been sitting here for a while."

Jaune looked around and noticed that he and Ren were the only ones left in the locker room.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Jaune stood up and straightened his shirt. "Just thinking about a few things."

"You're thinking about Robin's assignment, aren't you?"

He chuckled as they left the locker room. "That easy?"

"You shouldn't feel bad about the results. Given how badly we were outmatched when we first met Robin, I would've thought him to be taking it easy on us if we managed to get him out of that circle today, and that's not including the fact that he used a wooden sword, not the one he originally fought us with."

"Yeah…I know…" Jaune defeatedly sighed. "I just thought that we would've gotten stronger, you know? It's been a month since then."

"It's _only_ been a month, Jaune. No first-year can beat a fully trained huntsman, especially one that's more skilled than most. Not even the third-years managed to beat him." He gently patted Jaune on the back. "We were one of the two teams that almost got him out of that circle, and that was with _your_ strategies. You should be proud."

Jaune smiled, having his spirits lifted from his friend's words. "Thanks, Ren."

Ren gave a small smile back in return. "Come on. Nora and Pyrrha are most likely waiting for us in the cafeteria."

With a quick nod, the two of them began walking down the hall, neither of them wanting to make Nora wait for her food.

That girl could be very terrifying when hungry.

 _ **. . .**_

There were very few things in the multiverse that Robin disliked. There were even fewer things that he _hated_. In fact, he could count the number of things that he hated on a single hand, and one such item was sitting on top of his desk. Well, there were two things on his desk, one of which being his cup of coffee, but that wasn't the thing he hated.

If looks could kill (which was actually possible since Death could actually kill people with a glare), Robin was more than sure that the hated… _thing_ on his desk would have died a hundred times over. Instead, the _thing_ idly sat there, unflinching and uncaring about the utter contempt and hatred that was rolling off of Robin in waves.

In complete contrast to what Robin was feeling, there were two other people in his room were taking much more pleasure in his discomfort than a normal person would. Then again, all three members in the room were _far_ from normal.

"Stare at it all you want, it's not going to go away," Death said, not even bothering to hide the smirk on her face.

"Maybe not by my stares, no…" Robin grunted and raised an arm. A brilliant flame burst to life in his hands. "…but I'm pretty sure I can disintegrate it into nothing."

Death snapped her fingers, snuffing out Robin's flame with ease. Had anyone else tried to force shutdown Robin's mana in such a way, the backlash from his mental wards would have directly attacked their minds. Depending on their own mental strength and will, they would've either suffered from a throbbing headache or have their mind broken.

Or die. It's happened once. Or twice. Or…maybe a dozen times. It wasn't his fault that people from different worlds tried to do so, despite his constant warnings.

"Robin, no," Death said with a roll of her eyes.

"Robin, yes!" The flame in Robin's hand was relit and was once again extinguished.

As the Shepherd and death-incarnate got into a spat over what the former could - rather, should and shouldn't do, Snow's laughter had degraded from normal sounding laughs into wheezes. She sounded like a broken woodwind instrument.

"Fine." Robin crossed his arms and stopped conjuring his flames. "I swear Ozpin is doing this on purpose, waiting for me to take up a position in his school just so that he can dump all _this_ …" His eyes flared at the monstrosity on his desk. "…on me. I'm not even an official teacher here!"

"It's just paperwork," Death said.

" _'Just paperwork'_."Robin shook his head. "Paperwork can go fu-"

There was an audible _crack_ as a fracture suddenly appeared on Robin's cup. It didn't shatter, thank the small miracles for that, but it was still enough for the coffee to slowly seep through the cup and onto the wooden desk.

"Well then…" Robin pointed a finger at the cup and cast Henry's repairing hex. The cracks on the cup fixed themselves and coffee that spilled onto the table vanished with a flick of his wrist. "I'll be leaving now."

"What happened?" Snow asked. She finally managed to control her laughter and donned a slightly more serious face.

"A stray cat has entered my house unannounced," Robin said, standing to his feet. "I'm going to go see what she wants."

With a single step, he cast a Warp spell and vanished from his temporary office in Beacon Academy.

 _ **. . .**_

"Hey, Death?"

"Whatever you're thinking of, yes. Let's do it."

"Hehehe. I can't wait to see his reaction."

"Likewise. Let me just reverse the gravity and then flip everything."

"I'll add the "special effects"!"

"Go right ahead."

 _ **. . .**_

Blake couldn't help but think of how similar of a situation she was in compared to Weiss a month and a half ago. The only difference was that the Schnee had run off in a fit of anger while Blake… Simply put, it was not the same reason. What was the same was the fact that Blake had nowhere to go, just like Weiss. Sure, there were hotels here and there, but Blake had no wish to enter one.

And so, here she was, precariously hanging off the side of a building as she picked open one of the building's windows. At first, she had felt some sort of invisible resistance, but it vanished almost immediately, making her think that she just imagined it. The window's lock was broken a few seconds later, giving her free access into the building.

And she nearly threw up the moment she set foot into the building. The second she entered, she was hit by a heavy sense of vertigo, one so abrupt and dizzying that Blake lost all strength in her legs. She fell to one knee as the world seemed to spin around her as did her stomach, twisting and churning as cold sweat rolled down the sides of her head.

Much to her relief, the dizzy spell passed soon enough, but not before having sapped most of her strength. She stood on shaky legs and -

Eyes.

Blake was being watched. She _felt_ a gaze on her, one so intense that she felt like whoever was watching her was seeing into the depths of her mind. Her eyes darted around, looking for the source of the one watching her, but she was alone in the room. She didn't see any cameras either, so she doubted those were the source of the feeling. Unless, of course, the cameras were hidden, but that didn't seem likely.

Then the feeling vanished just as quickly as it came. Blake felt as if a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders, and she felt much lighter on her feet.

For her to feel a physical weight on her body from just a single gaze… Blake did _not_ want to meet who or what was responsible for it.

Now that she was free from both the strange sense of vertigo and no longer felt like she was being watched, Blake took the time to look around the room. It looked and felt…familiar somehow: silver-grey walls, a couch made from Quies leather, which was one of the best, if not _the_ best, quality leathers in the world, and a table made of glass. There was a set of stairs leading to a floor below, which made sense since Blake entered through a second-story window.

Just as she was about to move, something caught her eye. It was a giant painting that filled up one entire wall by itself, and she wondered how she didn't even notice it until now. It was vividly painted, so much so that Blake was able to tell that a lot of care went into it, despite not being very talented in art herself. The painting was of a group of around forty people, all dressed in a variety of clothing. They were out in a wide field, and there seemed to be a little story going on with every person in the painting.

There was one woman in pink clothing fixing the hair of a man with a stick of candy in his mouth.  
There was a child with a hat with an excessively wide brim reading some sort of green book to a lime-haired girl with pointed ears.  
A bald giant with one eye was boisterously laughing alongside a woman, both of them holding a tankard of ale in their hands.  
There was a muscular man with wild, blonde hair getting chased by an angry horse.  
A gentle-looking man with a bedhead was talking with a boy who had a bronze cooking pot on his head.

And then she saw Robin. He was sitting alongside ten others:

A man with navy-colored hair and a strange mark on his shoulder seated beside a woman with flowing red hair.  
A woman with silver hair who looked to be Robin twin sister sitting next to a stern-looking man with dark hair.  
A girl with long, navy-colored hair and a girl with red hair fashioned into two twintails. The red-haired girl was keeping a black mask out of the reach of a dark-haired youth.  
A pair of twins, a boy and a girl, both wearing the same robe that Robin and his twin sister were wearing.

And a beautiful woman with pink hair who was leaning on Robin's shoulder.

Blake found herself taking a step forward. The eleven of them were sitting in a rough circle in pairs, and just from them alone, they gave off a feeling of warmth and joy. The entire painting was amazing, but it was these eleven that completed the photo.

Then she realized with a start that one, she had broken into Robin's house, and two, she was looking at his past. And since this painting wasn't in the lobby but was instead on the second floor of his house, this was most likely something that he held dear to him. Something that was private.

"This painting is of my friends, my family, who I used to travel with before coming here."

Blake did _not_ jump into the air. She was startled, yes, but she did not jump. She didn't let out a yelp of surprise either. She turned her head and saw Robin standing next to her with his hands in his pockets. How long had he been standing there? She didn't even _hear_ him walk up.

She opened her mouth to speak but stopped upon noticing the wistful look in his eyes as he stared at the painting. He took a hand out of his pocket and pointed at the boy with the pot on his head.

"That's Donnel. Raised on a farm before he started traveling with us. Bright kid, learned quickly, was never seen without his pot helmet." He then pointed at a teal-haired man who was sitting beside a pink-haired woman. "That's Virion and Olivia, master archer and the enchanting dancer respectively, and both of them being the best of what they do. Just from her dance alone, Olivia would rejuvenate one's spirit, and I've never seen Virion miss a target unless he did it on purpose."

Blake nodded and remained silent. She had a feeling that she was the only one that Robin ever showed his past to, and she felt…some sort of way. It wasn't unpleasant, but it was…odd. Like a bubbly feeling in her stomach.

"That's Brady," Robin continued, pointing at a rough-looking teen. "Always had that look on his face, making him look like a common thug, but he has the softest and biggest heart in the world. That scar on his face was from a violin string that snapped when he was younger. Wouldn't stop crying for _hours_. And then there's Yarne and Panne." His finger moved towards two people sitting by a tree. "Quite possibly the most timid person I've met and quite possibly the sternest mother I've seen respectively. And they're faunus, just like you, Blake."

It took a second for his words to register in her ears. When they did, her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and she took more than a few wary steps back.

"…How did you know?" she asked. She tried to sound angry and cold, but her voice came out as only curious.

Robin didn't say anything for a while. His eyes were still on the painting. More specifically, he was staring at the group that the Robin in the painting was sitting with. He then took in a deep breath and gave her a soft smile.

"Would you like a seat?" he asked her, gesturing at the couch. "It would seem that there's quite a lot to talk about, such as the reason why you're here and how I knew you were a faunus."

It was Blake's turn to stay silent again. He wasn't wrong in saying that since she did have…more than a few questions that she wanted answers for.

"…Fine."

"Marvelous!" Robin snapped his fingers and a chair popped into existence by the table. And not just any chair: it was his _favorite_ chair. The very one that Weiss sat in the other time. "Now then, as I'm sure you have many questions while I only have a few, you may start. Ask away."

Blake slowly took a seat on the couch as Robin idly spun side to side on his chair. After a couple of seconds, she repeated the question from before.

"How did you know?"

"That you were a faunus?"

She nodded. In return, he simply gestured at the top of his head and began to make circle motions with his finger.

"Your bow twitches on its own every now and then, especially when something catches your interest," he replied with a small smile. "Not only that, you move with a grace that only faunus can move with."

Blake raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly that. I'd like to think that I have very good observational skills. I've always been able to see and notice things most people do not, even if I point it out for them. This is one such example, and it is something that I've noticed after working alongside humans and faunus for many years. Perhaps it is due to their inherent traits and abilities, but every faunus I've seen moves with more fluidity than a human.

"I was also with Ozpin when he was going over all the student applications; gave in my two cents on who should and shouldn't enter Beacon." He adopted a sour expression. "Friggin' Four-Eyes wouldn't stop asking me why I thought someone should or shouldn't enter the school."

A small bit of fear ran through Blake's heart. No, it wasn't fear. Worry? Panic? …Trepidation?

"…Did you…?"

"Did I come across your application? Yes. Did I know that it wasn't entirely true? Yes. Does Ozpin also know? Yes."

Blake's mouth suddenly felt very, _very_ dry. "…You knew that they're - "

"Fake? Forged? Basically a lie to cover up your history?"

"Then why?!" Blake nearly shouted.

She didn't understand. Robin knew who she was - what she did in the past. He knew that she was, or once was, affiliated with the White Fang. And given that he said that he and Ozpin personally went over each application, what point was there in accepting an ex-White Fang member into school? In fact, _why_ would they even want an ex-White Fang member in -

"You should really work on your poker face, Miss Belladonna. You'd make for a terrible player at this rate."

Blake was momentarily taken aback by his comment. "What?"

"To answer your question - rather, _questions_ … Would you believe me if I said that it was on a whim?"

"No," she immediately replied.

Robin exhaled a little more sharply than normal. It was like an amused scoff or a snort. "Figured as much. Very well. The reason why I passed my vote to enroll you was because you reminded me of an old friend of mine. Not you exactly, but your situation."

"I can't imagine many people to have been in my situation," Blake frowned.

"You'd be surprised. There are quite a few people that left an organization or group because they either did not want to be a part of it in the first place or because the organization lost sight of what it once was. It happens all the time, whether it be a company, a movement, or simply a circle of friends."

"But how many of them are - _were_ part of an organization that started to kill innocents?"

"Plenty. My friend that I mentioned earlier was part of one such group. It was very much like the White Fang: started out peaceful and stood for the underappreciated and the "lesser" of people. Then something happens that causes them to change, and while their end goal is the same, the means to it are not.

"As for my friend…well, he's a friend to me but I'm pretty sure that I'm merely an acquaintance to him, but I digress. He was originally part of an organization that my friends and I were on…not-so-friendly terms with. Then one day, he decided to leave. Even joined us in fighting the group he literally just left. You could imagine the amount of suspicion and distrust that my friends had of him. In the end, he turned out to be a damn good fighter and a really fun guy.

"And like I said before, the group he left was no longer the group that he joined in the beginning. It was originally a group that took from the corrupt nobles and helped the poor, but then there was a…change in leadership that caused the organization to become a group that sought death and ruin."

Blake frowned as she listened to him. The group he was talking about really did sound like the White Fang with the only difference being their purpose. The White Fang wanted equality, and what started out as a peaceful protest turned into a group that was seen as a terrorist organization.

However, she never heard of a group like the one that Robin was talking about.

"What were they called?" she asked, taking a sip of her tea. She didn't even know when Robin managed to prepare it for her, but she wasn't complaining.

"A topic for another time," Robin replied. "Now, may I ask you a question of my own?"

" …Sure."

"Do your teammates, specifically Miss Schnee, know the truth?"

Blake grimaced and averted her gaze. "…Yes."

"Judging from your reaction, they either did not take it too well or they found out from a third party before you told them. And given how you are here instead of with them, am I safe in assuming that you, for a lack of a better term, ran?"

 _'I didn't run!'_ is what Blake wanted to say, but the words wouldn't leave her mouth.

"I ask you this, Miss Belladonna: do you really think so little of your team that they wouldn't accept who you are?" The look of disappointment on Robin's face cut deeper into Blake than she expected. "None of them are so petty to abandon you just because you are a faunus. And while Miss Schnee would be discomforted and shocked, she would be more than understanding if the situation was properly explained."

"It's not that simple! I'm part - _was_ part of the White Fang! Weiss told me that she saw the White Fang murder people that she knew right in front of her eyes!" Blake countered. "She said it herself; she _hates_ them!"

"And as you said, you are no longer part of the White Fang," Robin calmly replied.

"You think something like that will matter?"

"Yes."

His immediate answer caught her off guard, causing her next word to get caught in her throat. Robin capitalized on that moment to continue speaking.

"I will admit that, at first, Miss Schnee will not listen to reason," he said. "But she has a brilliant mind, and I have no doubt that once she has taken the time to think things over, she will understand. If she was so petty, then I highly doubt that she would have followed Miss Rose as her leader for this long."

He said it with so much confidence and certainty that Blake wanted to believe it. "Wanted" being the keyword.

"…How can you say… How can you be so sure?" Blake asked.

"Because I was put in a similar situation as yours, albeit a little different."

"You seem to have a lot of similar experiences," she scoffed, but there was no malice in it.

Robin gave her a nonchalant shrug. "I'm a bit older than I look, Miss Belladonna, and as such, I've had quite a few experiences. And if one were to look at them from a certain angle, they can very well be taken as life lessons and they can be applied to many things in everyday occurrences."

Blake recalled Thana's words. _"Robin is older than he looks… has to do with his…genetics."_

"How old are you?" Blake blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Miss Belladonna, don't you know that it is quite rude to ask someone about their age? It is quite the delicate topic," Robin replied with a smirk.

"That rule tends to apply to women, not men," Blake said, rolling her eyes.

There was a brief pause before Robin burst into laughter. "Fair enough, Miss Belladonna. Fair enough." He leaned back in his chair. "Now, setting aside Miss Schnee's potential reaction to your return, what will you do now?"

"What do you mean?" Blake asked. She noticed that he never properly answered her question about his age.

"Well, I'm guessing that this fallout between you and your team started with the Dust shop that was attacked earlier today," Robin said, taking out his scroll. Raising his scroll to eye level, he tapped a few buttons on the screen and began to read, " _'Another shop left in dust, possibly White Fang?'_ Not the top story, but it is still on the first page of articles on the web."

Blake's hands slowly curled into fists. "…That was what started it, I'm pretty sure."

"And so I ask you: what do you plan on doing to clear the White Fang's name in this situation?" Robin asked. "Surely you don't expect anything to be solved by simply avoiding your team. In fact, the longer you dally, the more…emotional your reunion will be."

"I'm going to find the ones that are actually responsible for these raids and prove that it isn't the White Fang!" Blake adamantly answered.

"Mhm. I see." Robin nodded as he tapped away on his scroll with one hand. "And how do you plan on doing that? How will you know when and where the next raid will be if there is to be another? Do you plan on just waiting around for however long it'll take?"

"I…I don't know…" she reluctantly admitted.

Robin nodded again and tapped his scroll a few more times. " _'When caught in a situation that you seem to be unable to get out of, always take the time to step back and review the situation. You'll often find that the answer to your problem has been sitting in front of you the entire time.'_ "

" _'…sitting in front of you…'_ " Blake quietly repeated.

She recognized that line from Alius' tactics book. From _Robin's_ tactics book. She made a mental note to ask him a few things about his novels later. Her eyes moved up and she stared at the author in front of her, who was still idly playing on his scroll. Then her eyes widened in realization.

"Wait! You mean…!"

An impish grin appeared on Robin's face as Blake caught onto the literal answer. With his eyes still on his scroll, he said, "It just so happens that a little birdie has informed all of the professors of Beacon about a Dust transport, one belonging to the SDC, that has been raided not too long ago. The professors were told to keep this information private, but I am not a professor at Beacon. At least, not officially.

"Which is why I am not the one telling you that a certain western dock will be receiving quite a large import of high-quality Dust that so happens to be the same amount missing from a certain enterprise. Said shipment is estimated to arrive within four hours."

Blake's mind was soaking in everything he said like a sponge. "…Why are you telling me this?"

"Hm? Whatever are you talking about? I didn't tell you anything," Robin mischievously grinned.

"I… You…" Blake shook her head. Then a small smile rose to her face and she stood up from her seat. "…Thank you, Robin."

Robin simply nodded and she began to leave. She opened the window that she broke - _entered_ from and grabbed the sides to boost herself up onto the windowsill.

"Oh, and Miss Belladonna?"

She turned around and saw Robin twirling around a set of keys in his hands.

"If you ever wish to enter my house, all you need to do is ask," he playfully smirked.

It took her half a second for his words to register in her head. When they did, heat rushed to her cheeks and she jumped out the window to avoid further embarrassment. She immediately regretted that decision as she was hit by another terrible sense of vertigo and she fell towards the ground.

Thank the tuna gods for Aura.

 _ **. . .**_

"Huh… And here I thought cats always landed on their feet," Robin mused. "Maybe I should duplicate the wards at cafe's entrance to the windows - on second thought, naaahh. If they get affected by the warped space, that's on them for breaking into my house."

From the street below his window, Blake slowly stood up and hobbled away. By the time she was halfway down the block, she seemed to have gotten over her dizziness as she gracefully leapt away. Once she was out of sight, Robin took out his scroll and dialed a number. It only rang twice before the person on the other end picked up.

 _"Hello,"_ the man said in a happy-go-lucky tone.

"Hey, it's me. I'm calling in one of those favors."

 _"Uhh…come again?"_

"Those bets that you lost?"

 _"Mm…doesn't ring a bell."_

"…You know I have the other two on speed-dial. I can tell them that you've been sneaking off into the city and playing hooky on your job. And there's still the matter of the ship that you "lost"."

 _"O-OH! Y-Yeah, those bets, yeah! I remember now!"_ the man nervously laughed. _"Please don't tell them. Please, please please please please please! I'll treat you to that spicy ramen shop that I've been telling you about!"_

"Just get this job for me done and I won't tell them. How's that sound?"

The man sighed. _"Alright. What do you want me to do?"_

"Don't sound so bummed out. You get to get out of that tower of yours and get some fresh air with an actual excuse this time."

There was a split-second pause on the line. _"You had my curiosity but now you have my attention. What's the job?"_

"Nothing too troubling. I just need you to keep an eye on a few individuals for a few hours. Make sure that they don't get themselves in too sticky of a situation. Might get yourself some target practice."

 _"Ugh. Of all the things to do, you want me to_ babysit _?"_

"As I said, you get to get out of the tower for a bit. Unless, of course, you want to take my workload from Beacon and do more paperwork."

 _"When and where do you need me?"_

A triumphant smirk appeared on Robin's face. "I'll send you the details in a few. Have fun."

 _"Sure thing. Oh, and after this, wanna get some ramen?"_

"Maybe."

 _"Let me know!"_

Once he ended the call, Robin opened up the private documents that the Beacon professors received. With a few taps on the screen, he forwarded them over to the person he just talked with along with a few more details.

"And with that, I'll keep Miss Belladonna and her friends safe," Robin said to himself. Then his easy expression contorted into one of disgust as he channeled mana in the space in front of him. "And now, more paperwork at Beacon…"

Before he finished his cast, he glanced over at the large painting on the wall. His eyes lingered on the scene of him sitting with his family before he took in a deep breath. Then he finished his cast and stepped forward, reappearing in his temporary office in Beacon immediately…only everything was…flipped.

"…What the…"

Robin was definitely in his office, but he wasn't standing on the floor. Instead, he was standing on the ceiling of his office. The floor was above his head along with his desk and chairs. The paperwork was somehow clinging onto the desk, stubborn and insufferable things as they were, and his cup of coffee was still there. It was as if someone got the entire room and flipped it on its head. Even the windows were upside down.

"…Who the fuck…?" Robin let out a rare curse as he stared at his flipped office.

"Language, Robin."

"To whom the fucketh?"

Something whapped him on top of the head.

"No! That's not any better!"

Robin inhaled as slowly as he could and counted to ten. Then he exhaled just as slowly through his mouth before turning around to see Death and Snow standing in front of him. Both of them had the same shit-eating grins on their faces.

"Like what we did with your room?" Snow asked.

"…Why."

"I must say, it was a little more difficult than you'd think," Death said. There was a hint of pride in her voice. "I had to ask Space for the more intricate parts of the remodel."

"…Why."

"Think of it this way, Robin. It's now like that one scene from the pirate movie!" Snow brightly grinned. "The part where they flip the boat upside down!"

"…No."

Snow's grin turned into a pout.

"How am I supposed to work with my room like this?" he asked.

"That sounds like a 'you' problem," Death smirked. "Toodle-doo~"

And then Death and Snow were gone before Robin could do anything. As the shadows from Death's gates receded into corners of the room, Robin took out his scroll and redialed the number from earlier.

 _"Change your mind about your "maybe"?"_

"Change the ramen to a drink and we'll be good."

 _"What happened - you know what, I don't even want to know what happened in the span of a few minutes."_

"Smart."

 _"So…how's we make that ramen_ and _a drink? Would that work?"_

"That works too."

 _"Woo! Spicy ramen shop, here I come! Still got your coupons!"_

Then the call ended, leaving Robin alone with the predicament of a flipped office that he had absolutely no idea how to fix.

" _'When caught in a situation that you seem to be unable to get out of, always take the time to step back and review the situation. You'll often find that the answer to your problem has been sitting in front of you the entire time,'_ huh?" he dryly repeated. "Just my luck that I'm always getting the situations that aren't 'often'. What kind of irony is this: writing a tactics and guide book that can't even apply to the guy that wrote it?"

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **This really should've come out sooner, but thanks to an amazing friend, I finally got a PC for games. Now I get to regrind all my past thousands of hours of games! Like Monster Hunter: World and Warframe! (I'm really,** _ **really**_ **not looking forward to that since I had a ton of stuff on my Xbox account. All my Primes and mods that I spent countless hours grinding and farming for…all locked behind that wall known as "Different Platforms".)**

 **And then when I finally got to a not-really-but-sort-of-comfortable spot of grinding, Kingdom Hearts 3 comes out. And oh my goodness, the music in the game beautiful.**

 **But hey, at least A Shepherd's Rest is finally having some ties to canonical events in RWBY! Blake's little runaway happens a bit differently and I completely omitted the harbor scene, but I'm pretty sure that most of you already know what happened and possibly read more than enough RWBY fics to know what happens.**

 **Robin's skills with Support conversations from Awakening is making small changes in characters, but even the smallest drops make ripples.**

 **Easter eggs. Not that many this time. Just a few Support conversation scenes from Awakening and some exposition from FE7. How does Robin know about the events of a game that he wasn't even a part of? In due time.**

 **Oh, and then there's the person that Robin called. Put a few hints in as to who he is, and I'm sure some of you already know his identity. I'll reveal him…next chapter? Dunno. Maybe.**

 _ **. . .**_

 **And what in the world…? You remember how back in Chapter 5, I called you people crazy? Yeah, lemme up that to 'Insane'.**

 **500+ follows, 350+ favorites, and 100+ reviews. I can't imagine the RWBYxFE fandom to be very big, and I'm not saying that due to the small number of stories in this crossover.**

 **Where are you all coming from? Rather,** _ **how**_ **did you stumble across this? (Rhetorical questions. No need to answer them.)**

 **In any case, many, MANY thanks to all of you for the follows, favorites, and/or reviews. Never thought that a story that I started just on a whim would get this popular, especially since everything I'm writing in here is just me faffing about.**

 **See you all in the next chapter, you insanes. (I know that's not a word, but I'm calling you that now. Deal with it.)**


	9. (Totally Not a Placeholder Title Name)

**Something something beginning author's note because I honestly can't think of anything witty to put here.** **Uhh…I can't think of a chapter name so it'll be the stock 'Chapter 9' for now? Until I can think of a suitable chapter name? Yeah, I'll get back to that when my brain decides to cooperate.**

 **Honestly, thinking of names is the hardest thing to do for me. I spend more times on making my character name in RPG games than anything else, save for a few select bosses.**

 **Speaking of games, Sekiro. Absolutely love that game.**

 **Anywhey, here's story. Enjoy.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

Pride.

It could be many things, both good and bad.

If one has too much of it, then they would very easily be seen as arrogant and boastful. They would most likely push away anyone who could potentially be a genuine friend to them and be alone in the world, despite their so-called "friends". The people that they become surrounded by would most often be individuals who are shallow and would very easily turn their backs on their "leader".

However, too little pride can also be a bad thing. Without pride, they wouldn't be able to stand up for themselves, and as a result, would get walked over by others. They would become a mere shell of their former self.

Pride was a fickle thing. It could very easily be taken a mental type of cancer. There was a very fine balance between having too much of it and too little - the line between arrogance and meekness, and Robin liked to think he walked on that line. Then again, that was merely his opinion and his alone. But at this very moment, he was starting to think his pride was leaning a little more in the "arrogant" direction.

The same could be said for his opponent, refusing to back down. His eyes were filled with an iron will and an unwavering focus. No amount of determination nor display of strength from Robin would cause him to avert his gaze to give Robin the victory. This was something that they both knew.

"You are dangerous," Robin said, slowly unfolding his arms. "Left unchecked, you could very easily sway everyone to your will. They would do your bidding without question and without hesitation, and that is something that I cannot allow."

There was no response from the being in front of him, no change in expression.

"I did not wish to do this, but you leave me with no choice."

Reaching into the depths of his spacial storage, Robin pulled something that he never thought he'd take out. At least, not this soon. The moment the item appeared in his hands, it happened. It was so brief, lasting only for less than a tenth of a second, but Robin had seen changes that were swifter and more minute than the flicker of his opponent's eyes.

He held back a grin. With this, his victory was assured -

 _*BANG*_

The door to his temporary office suddenly burst open and a young girl clad in black and red stumbled inside. Her eyes frantically danced around the room before settling on Robin and his opponent.

"Zwei!"

"Woof!"

Robin's opponent jumped off the counter and leapt into Ruby's arms just as Yang entered the room.

"Finally found you! I was so worried!" Ruby cried before looking at Robin with grateful eyes. "Thank you for finding him!"

"I did nothing that is worth being thanked for, Miss Rose," Robin laughed. "Your dog, Zwei, was it? He walked in here on his own and hopped onto my desk. He refused to budge from that spot as if he knew you would eventually come. He is a very intelligent dog."

"Hehe, he is, isn't he?" Ruby beamed.

Yang walked over and pointed at the item in his hand. "Why?"

"Ah, this?" Robin twirled the dog treat between his fingers. "He looked like he could use a treat. I figured that I'd give him one now rather than later so that he would not wander off in search of more. Just saying, I won the staring contest between the two of us."

Ruby pouted and rubbed Zwei's head. "Zweiii, I told you not to go to other people for treats!"

"Woof!"

 _*BANG*_

"Hey, birdface!"

Robin raised an eyebrow at the newcomer. "Would you like to be the pot or the kettle in this situation?"

Instead of answering, Qrow stormed up and shoved his scroll into Robin's face. "How did Glynda get this photo!?"

"Photo?" Robin leaned his head back a little to see what Qrow was angry about. And then a devious grin formed on his face. "Ah, that. You should ask Ozpin for that answer. He was the one that took the photo, not me."

"I already asked him that and he led me to you," Qrow growled. "Now talk before I make you, shit-for-brains!"

There was a soft gasp. "Uncle Qrow! Language! Bad!"

Qrow looked down in confusion at the small hand that hit his arm. "Ruby?"

"Sup, Uncle Qrow," Yang smiled.

 _ **. . .**_

There was a light, clattering noise as Robin set down a tray of drinks on the table. Handing the drinks out to their respective drinkers, he said, "So…this is your uncle…"

"Yup!" Ruby beamed at Robin as Yang took a seat next to her. "He's the one that taught me how to wield a scythe!"

"Glad that's the only thing you picked up from him," Robin said.

"Got something you wanna tell me?" Qrow glared.

"Yeah. How are _you_ the uncle of this precious little child here?" Robin smirked, placing a hand on Ruby's shoulder.

"Hey! Hands off my niece!"

"Hands off that flask," Robin countered, eyeing the metal container in Qrow's hand. "You're a bad influence on the younger generation. And did you not learn from the previous time you were knocked out?"

Clicking his tongue, Qrow put his flask away while muttering under his breath. Knowing him, it was most likely profanities and curses aimed at Robin.

"You two know each other?" Yang asked, unable to keep her surprise out of her voice.

"We've met a few times," Qrow reluctantly grumbled as Robin sat in his chair.

"Bit of an understatement. He's been coming to my store almost every night for the past couple of weeks. Only stopped temporarily since I'm stuck here at Beacon," Robin added and looked at the two girls with a mischievous grin. "Did you know he tried to kill me within the first ten minutes of knowing each other?"

"You what?!" "Uncle Qrow!" "Woof!"

Qrow looked at Robin with a look of horror and slight betrayal. "I was drunk!"

"You're always drunk. It's just a matter of _how_ drunk."

"You were nowhere close to dying."

"I'm pretty sure getting hit on the back of the head by a pointy glass bottle hurled by a huntsman can kill someone. Especially if they're caught off-guard."

"You easily dodged it."

"Out of sheer luck that I bent my body ever so slightly to take out my wallet at that very moment."

Ruby pouted at her uncle. "You said you would stop drinking so much."

"Yeah, Qrow," Robin smugly smirked. "I thought you told her that you'd stop drinking so much."

"That's a cheap shot, using my own niece against me," Qrow glowered. He took a sip of his coffee and recoiled at the taste. "How in the world do you drink this sh- " He glanced at Ruby's pouting face and corrected himself at the last second. " - swindle?"

"Like how you drink anything else. You drink with your mouth," Robin snarked.

"Piss off."

"You're the one that asked the question. I simply answered. It may not have been an answer that you wanted, but it was an answer nonetheless. You have no right to complain."

"I have every right to complain!"

"You sound like a child."

"Well…" Yang rested her elbow on the table. "You're the one that said that you can be a child once but immature forever, right?"

Robin folded his arms and proudly smiled. "Well said, Miss Xiao Long."

"And now you're teaching them life lessons. Fan-freaking-tastic." Qrow rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat. "What's next, taking up a teaching position at Beacon? You already covered for Glynda once. Still are, I should add."

"Yeah, let me get right over there and start teaching the students how to brew a perfect cup of coffee," Robin sarcastically replied. "Everyone knows that you can win over the Grimm with a cup of bean water, bringing peace to the entire world."

"Don't knock it 'til you try it."

"Is that what you tell yourself whenever a woman's figure draws your eye? How'd that girl from four nights ago work out for you?"

With an irritated click of his tongue, Qrow took a sip of his coffee. "Just because you don't like to go out as often as I do. You should try it sometime, venture out and see who catches your fancy. Unless…" Then his eyes slowly widened in mock horror. "…You're not a eunuch, are you?

"Sorry to tell you this, but I already have a woman in my life," Robin said, rolling his eyes at Qrow's last statement.

"Do you now?"

"Oh! Is it Thana?" Ruby suddenly asked.

"Thana?" Robin and Qrow both asked, the former in confusion and the latter in curiosity.

"Yeah, Thana. The woman who was working here the other day," Yang said with a grin. "Guess you like women with bigger _assets_ , huh?"

Qrow adopted a shit-eating grin. "Oh, so that's what you look for in women?" He then turned to Yang. "What's she look like?"

"She looks like she's way out of your league, Uncle Qrow," Yang smirked in response.

"Hey!"

"Ouch. Being told that by your own niece has got to do wonders for your self-confidence," Robin laughed. "But, in all seriousness, who's Thana?"

"The really pretty lady who took over for you the other day when you were on a Grimm hunt!" Ruby answered.

A few seconds passed before Robin finally understood who the two girls were talking about. "Oh. Her." A sour look then appeared on his face. "No, I'm not seeing her."

"You… You actually forgot about a bombshell like her?" Yang incredulously asked.

"In my defense, it's been a while since she used that name," Robin said with a shrug of his shoulders. "And Yang's right: she's _way_ out of your league, Qrow."

"I'm going to hurt you," Qrow vowed.

"You can try," Robin said in a challenging tone.

"Ooooooh, that looks like it'd be fun to watch," Yang said. "Uncle Qrow versus Robin?"

Qrow scoffed as he set down his cup. "Please. He wouldn't stand a chance. Ain't that right, Ruby?" When the little Rose didn't reply, Qrow's confidence faltered slightly. "Ruby?"

"…I don't know about that," Yang said, answering for her younger sister, who nodded in silent agreement. "I mean, we haven't seen Robin fight seriously, but he's still pretty good. At least, from what we've seen in combat class."

The older Huntsman's eyes narrowed slightly, and despite his laid-back attitude, a spark of a challenge appeared in his eyes. "That so?"

"You mean you've never seen Robin fight?" Yang asked.

"Nope."

"Not even a Grimm?"

"Nope."

"Speaking of fighting Grimm…" Yang turned her attention to Robin. "What _did_ you fight on the day that Thana ran Shepherd?"

Something akin to a grimace appeared on Robin's face. "An annoyance. Stubborn bugger wouldn't stay down despite having its wings clipped."

"Wings? Oh, then you fought a Nevermore?" Ruby asked.

"…Sure," was Robin's skeptical reply.

"What do you mean, _"sure"_?" Yang huffed. "You make it sound like you didn't fight a Nevermore! They're the most common winged Grimm, the only others being…the Manticore and Sphinx… No way…"

Robin didn't verbally reply. Instead, he merely gave them a grin that neither confirmed nor denied Yang's statement, and just as it seemed like he _was_ going to answer, there was a knock at the door.

"Enter," Robin said.

The door opened and a certain headmaster walked in with the other half of team RWBY behind him. Silence settled upon the room for a few seconds that felt a lot longer than it actually was.

"Robin. Qrow."

"Oz."

"Four-Eyes.

The three adults curtly greeted one another as the students looked around with confusion evident on their faces.

"What's going on?" Yang slowly asked. "Weiss, Blake, why are you two here?"

"That is what I wish to know as well," Weiss said. "Blake and I were in the library when Headmaster Ozpin asked us to follow him."

"That I did, and now that all of you are here, I can now say why," Ozpin said with a nod. He approached Robin's side table, which was just recently placed for brewing coffee, and asked the cafe owner, "May I?"

Robin offhandedly waved his hand. "Go right ahead."

"My thanks." As Ozpin poured himself a cup, he glanced around the room. "Did some cleaning last night? The room looks to be quite free of dust."

A strange expression settled on Robin's face, one that the others couldn't place. "Something like that. Had to do some impromptu remodeling."

Ozpin raised an eyebrow. "The layout seems to be the same as the day you came in for Glynda."

"The room was flipped on its head."

There was a moment of silence after that. Every pair of eyes was on Robin, figuring that he was simply exaggerating, and while it was most likely an exaggeration, his tone made it seem like the room was actually flipped on itself. But then again, Robin was still quite a mystery to everyone in the room.

"So why are you here?" Robin asked Ozpin, either unaware or not caring about the little dilemma that he caused. "If it's for something stupid, I'm going to force-feed you a _second_ cup of stale coffee down your throat alongside the first, which I have yet to give you, by the way."

The color drained from Ozpin's face as and he cleared his throat with a fist over his mouth. "Yes, back to why I brought along Miss Belladonna and Miss Schnee."

"Pfft. A Schnee," Qrow snickered.

"Is something the matter?" Weiss hotly asked.

"Pay the brute no heed, Miss Schnee. Consider what he says to be nothing more than a drunk man's ramble," Robin quipped.

"Care to repeat that?" Qrow challenged.

"Quiet, you drunk brute," Robin immediately replied with a smirk. "Let the headmaster speak."

Qrow opened his mouth to make a retort when Ozpin cleared his throat again, causing him to close his open mouth. However, that didn't stop him from glaring at Robin.

"As I was saying, the reason why I brought these two here is because of their team's actions from last night," Ozpin said. "I believe the school rules are quite clear on acts of vigilantism, despite the circumstances. In this case, a first-year team fought the White Fang and the infamous criminal, Roman Torchwick, all on their own. They even dragged a visiting student from Haven and Atlas."

"But we didn't even talk to him! That blondie just jumped into the fight on his own! Out of nowhere!" Yang protested. "And that Penny girl just followed us!"

"Nonetheless, the fact remains that you went against the school rules," the headmaster calmly replied. "As such, I shall delegate the current combat professor to deal the proper punishment for breaking the rules."

Robin narrowed his eyes at Ozpin. "You…are an absolute - you know what? Make that _three_ cups of coffee for - "

"Qrow, if you would come with me," Ozpin said, cutting Robin off. There was a smug glint in his eyes, but if one paid close enough attention, a hint of fear could be seen in there as well. "There is a matter that I wish to discuss with you."

"Is it how that photo you took got around?" Qrow asked, and Ozpin shook his head. "Tch, fine. I'm coming."

Not a single word was said as Ozpin and Qrow left the office. The moment the door closed behind them, Robin let out a lengthy groan.

"I'm going to hurt him. I don't know when, I don't know how, but one day, I'm going to hurt him," Robin grumbled to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Maybe I'll just dump out a gallon of fresh coffee into a sink while he's bound to a chair while I force feed him stale coffee. Make him _cry_."

The four students in the room plus one dog stared at each other in mild confusion, although Blake visible flinched when she met eyes with Zwei. Her shoulders stiffened and she retreated to the opposite of the room from the little dog in Ruby's arms.

"So, _professor_ , how are you going to _punish_ us?" Yang provocatively grinned, her voice turning more sultry with each word. "Us four…innocent…girls?"

The faces of Ruby, Weiss, and Blake turned varying degrees of red as Yang leaned forward onto Robin's desk. Robin, on the other hand, while still pinching the bridge of his nose, simply looked down to the corner of his desk, right where Yang's hands were placed. Then his eyes flicked up and met Yang's.

"You? Innocent? Forgive me if I find that hard to believe, Miss Xiao Long," Robin calmly replied. He removed his hand from his face and brought up his holographic desk keyboard. His fingers danced across the buttons and a few screens popped up above his desk. "I've more than a few reports from the city from your little…adventures. Most of them involve some form of property destruction and fights with civilians, such as this one."

He brought up another screen that displayed the front of a restaurant-bar. At least, what remained of the front. The restaurant's name was broken, the doors were blown off its hinges, and a few windows were shattered. Worst of all, every member of Team RWBY recognized the place.

"Looks familiar, does it not?" Robin continued. "It almost looks like that restaurant that a certain first-year team went to visit for a late lunch and was promptly kicked out of around almost two months ago."

"Y-Yeah…about that…" At least Yang had the decency to look ashamed. "Technically, it wasn't our fault since the people there tried to touch Ruby."

"And whose brilliant idea was it to bring along two seventeen-year-olds and a _fifteen_ -year-old to a restaurant _bar_ while she herself is underage?" Robin countered and Yang averted her gaze. He then sighed and dismissively waved his hand across the multiple screens above his desk, almost as if he was shoo-ing them away. "But that is neither here nor there. Before that, however…" He turned his attention to Blake and Weiss. "So?"

It took the two girls a moment to realize what Robin meant by that one word. They looked at each other for a few seconds before nodding simultaneously, almost as if they had some sort of silent conversation through their eyes alone.

"Yes," Weiss answered.

"That is good to hear." Robin nodded. "Now as for you breaking the rules… How's I give you a figurative slap on the wrist and you can run along."

Yang and Ruby immediately perked up. "Okay!"

Weiss, on the other hand…

"What?! No!"

…clearly did not share the same sentiment as the two sisters.

"Rules are rules for a reason, and they _must_ be followed! If broken, there must be proper repercussions for the felon!"

Three disheartened groans immediately followed Weiss' declaration, the three being from Yang, Ruby, and Robin.

"Can I not?" Robin whined.

Weiss huffed and crossed her arms. "You are a professor at Beacon Academy - "

"Correction: I'm a _temporary_ and an _unofficial_ professor at Beacon," Robin said, cutting her off. "And I don't even have a degree of sorts to even be qualified to be a professor of any sort. The only reason why I'm here is because I now have leverage over Glynda. An 'IOU', in layman's terms."

The Schnee Heiress raised an unamused eyebrow and crossed her arms in a dignified manner that only a Schnee could pull off. "Really?"

"You'd be surprised at how far a single favor can take you," Robin sagely said. "An eye for an eye, a debt for a debt, lien for lien, and so on and so forth. It's all a matter of who you do the favor for and when you call in that favor. For example, last night, when the four of you and the two visiting students were fighting Roman Torchwick and the White Fang."

"Last night?" Ruby tilted her head in confusion. A second later, her eyes lit up. "Oh! You mean that guy with the really cool gun that came in to help at the last second? He was all like - "

 _ **. . .**_

 _" - "RAUR!" It was like an ugly contest where everyone was a winner! 'Cept me, of course._

 _"Anyhoo, I shot this one guy, pew! Then I shot this other one, pew! Shot a couple extra guys just to be safe, pew doosh doosh!" He paused in the middle of his story and picked up his glass, putting away his finger gun for the time being. "I did…I did a lotta shooting, if I'm being totally honest."_

 _Robin said nothing as he simply took a sip of his own drink. If_ he _was being totally honest, he was only paying half-attention to the story. After all, one of his favorite life quotes that he lived by was, 'There's a very fine line between not listening and not caring. I like to think I walk that line every day of my life.' And while yes, he didn't do that every day like a certain man that was certainly not an AI, the first part of the quote came in very handy more times than Robin was willing to count. Which was not that high._

 _...The willingness part, that is. Not the counting part._

 _Robin would like to take this time to affirm the fact that he could very well, in fact, count very,_ very _high._

 _"Then PEKEEEWWW! One of them shoots a rocket and they destroy my favorite store - second favorite, there's that spicy ramen shop we just went to - I'm getting sidetracked. Look, long story short, I get busy, and I'm thinking, 'I got this', y'know? When you're in that 'I-got-this' moment, but man…" He shook his head and placed a fist onto the table. "…I so…did not…have it."_

 _"…I'm sure, Cayde," Robin deadpanned, taking another sip._

 _"Hey, it's not my fault that one of those Bullheads that I shot decided to land on me!" Cayde tried to reason. When Robin continued to give him the same look, he let out a deep sigh. "Guess you had to be there."_

 _"Indeed."_

 _ **. . .**_

Robin shook his head as he remembered his outing with the 'guy-with-the-really-cool-gun', or so Ruby put it, after finding out a way to restore his office.

"Who was he anyway?" Yang curiously asked. "The last time I saw him was after the Bullhead crashed into him. I thought he'd be seriously injured from that, but he just walked it off like it was nothing after digging himself out! I mean, who does that?!"

"He is a prime example of having people owe you favors," Robin said. "I called in one of the favors that he owes me to watch over you girls so that you would've run into any sticky situations. In this case, he was there to prevent the White Fang reinforcements from inside Vale from overrunning the entire dock."

"We could've taken them," Yang confidently said, crossing her arms.

Robin's eyes narrowed almost immediately. "Do not underestimate the power of numbers, Miss Xiao Long. Even ants are capable of taking down a lion." His eyes moved from one member of the team to the other. "While I have no doubts about your fighting capabilities, everyone has their limits. You'd do well to learn them as soon as you can."

"Isn't there some saying about limits being broken?" Ruby asked.

"Indeed, however, that in itself is a double-edged sword, Miss Rose," Robin answered. "While yes, limits are indeed meant to be broken for one cannot grow without doing so. However, if you chase after your limits recklessly and without abandon, then it will bring you more harm than good. There is a time and place for everything. Like how there's a time that I should be giving you some sort of punishment for breaking the rules but now is not it since I'm not exactly guilt-free in this situation."

"What do you mean?" Weiss narrowed her eyes a little.

"Oh, nothing really. After all…" His eyes slowly moved and landed on Blake. "…I never really said anything in the first place, did I?"

It took her a second but Blake's eyes widened slightly as she remembered his words from the previous night. A knowing smile appeared on her lips as she gave him a curt nod in response while Ruby, Weiss, and Yang furrowed their brows in confusion.

"Now, I believe the four of you have things to do, such as studying for exams or training for the upcoming Vytal Festival," Robin continued, waving a dismissive hand. "I'd advise working as a whole, then in two-on-twos, then one-on-ones."

"What about the punishment?" Weiss asked as a reminder, much to the displeasure of everyone else in the room. "You didn't give us one."

Robin groaned into his hands. "Weiss…" he began, his voice slightly muffled from behind his hands. "…I can either let the four of you off without having to take any extra lessons, or I can leave your punishment behind for Professor Goodwitch to take care of and oversee. Which would you prefer?"

At the mention of the original combat instructor's name, all four students paled. Just as Weiss opened her mouth to speak again, Yang leapt forward and covered the Schnee's mouth.

"I think we'll take the first option," Blake hastily said as Yang held back a kicking and muffled-screaming Weiss. "Thank you for your time, Robin."

Robin gave her a small nod. "Have a good day, Blake. And to the rest of you."

The four students left the office not ten seconds later. The moment the door closed behind them, Weiss broke free of Yang's grasp and glared at her.

"Hey hey hey, relax a bit, Snow Queen," Yang said, raising her hands in a placating gesture. "We got off scot-free after breaking the rules, rules that the _h_ _eadmaster_ enforced. Shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth, right?"

Weiss looked like as if she was about to say something. Then she closed her mouth, opened it, then closed it again. "…Fine. I still don't think that we should've just been let off, but I'll agree with it this one time only. No more freebies after this, got it? No matter how small the slight."

"Got it, got it," Yang laughed. A sly grin then formed on her face. "By the way… Blake, Weiss?"

"Yes?" "Mm?"

The grin on Yang's face grew wider. "When did the two of you get so close with the Shepherd that he's on a first name basis with you?"

Specks of red appeared on both Weiss and Blake's cheeks, but while Weiss struggled to form an answer on her tongue, Blake simply smirked and walked ahead.

"Maybe he just likes us better than you and Ruby," Blake evenly said over her shoulder.

No one would ever know about her higher blood pressure and the fact that her heart was beating faster than normal.

 _ **. . .**_

Jaune's foot repeatedly tapped on the hall floor as he stood in front of the door. Seconds trickled by and that nervous feeling in his gut grew with each foot tap, and he was beginning to think that the door in front of him would never open.

"Maybe he's not in his office right now," Jaune muttered to himself. "I mean, he does have his own shop to run and all even if he is teaching here. And I'm pretty sure that teachers get a lot of paperwork that they have to get done. I'll just come back later…yeah…."

Just as he was about to leave, however, the door opened with a _click_.

"How do you do, Mister Arc? What brings you here to my office?"

Jaune had mentally prepared himself for this. He ran through many potential conversation starters in his head for this sort of situation, but for some odd reason, his mind went blank at that very moment. As such, the only thing that came out his mouth was…

"Uhh…hi…?"

 _'Very smart, Jaune,'_ he mentally chastised himself.

With an amused look on his face, Robin opened his door wider and stepped to the side. The faint aroma of coffee seeped into the hallway from the office. "Would you like to come in? Unless, of course, you're fine with standing out here."

"No no, I mean - yes!"

"Yes, you'd like to stand in the hallway?" Robin asked with a raised brow.

"No!" Jaune quickly replied.

Lightly laughing to himself, Robin fully opened the door and gave Jaune ample room to enter the office.

It was just about the same size as the student rooms, maybe a bit bigger, so while not being the largest room that he'd seen, it was still quite large for a single occupant. There was scarcely anything that looked to be like Robin's personal effects, though Jaune figured that it was due to the fact that he was not a permanent teacher but a short-term one. The only things that decorated the room was a clock, a desk, a few chairs, and, not to his surprise, a coffee maker.

"So, Mister Arc." Robin sat down behind his desk while motioning for him to sit. "What can I do for you?"

Jaune took a seat on one of the two seats on his side of the desk. The orange glow from the setting sun landed directly onto his seat, causing him to avert his gaze as he sat down. Robin must've noticed that the sun was in Jaune's eyes, evident by the fact that he pressed a button to heavily tint the windows. Sunlight still seeped through the glass, just not as glaring.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to just realize that he didn't know how to properly address the man in front of him. Most of the professors in Beacon, plus one doctor, were referred to by their surnames, and Jaune had no idea what Robin's surname was.

It also just hit him how much of a _presence_ that Robin exuded. It was a complete contrast to how he felt in front of Robin at A Shepherd's Rest. Jaune couldn't really explain it, but when he was at Shepherd, he felt a sense of warmth when standing in front of Robin. Almost as if he was home. Like Robin was truly the friendly and charismatic man that he showed himself off to be.

Here, on the other hand, Robin didn't seem like that at all. While yes, the cafe owner still had that smile of his that all of his regulars were familiar with, the aura that he had was completely different. And Jaune wasn't talking about Aura, but _aura_. It wasn't necessarily hostile, but it wasn't exactly friendly either. Actually, no - it was still friendly, but it was a different sort of friendly. It was sort of like the feeling he got when Professor Goodwitch would stare at him with those terrifying, appraising eyes of hers, only the feeling that he got from Robin wasn't as -

"While I'm not completely against someone staring at me, I'm afraid that I'm already taken. As are you, even if you do not realize it yet," Robin said with a grin.

Heat rose to Jaune's face from Robin's first sentence while confusion settled upon hearing the second.

"Wha - Huh?" he sputtered.

Robin burst into laughter. "Think nothing of it, Mister Arc. For now, at least."

"…Ooookay?"

"In any case, what is it that you wished to ask of me?"

Taking in a deep breath, and swallowing a bit of saliva that had accumulated in his mouth, he began to speak.

 _ **. . .**_

Some time later, Robin leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Strength, invincible, powerful… Do you know what they are, Mister Arc?"

Jaune took a moment to think about those three words, and aside from their literal and obvious meanings, he couldn't think of anything else. As such, he shook his head in response.

"They are merely words. Nothing more, nothing less. It is up to each and every individual to decide what they mean for themselves."

"But - "

"Earlier, you asked me how I got to be as 'strong' as I am now, on what I did to achieve this 'strength'." Robin pursed his lips. "I will not lie in saying that years of live combat was the main reason. Live combat is by far the best teacher out there, but at the same time, it is also the cruelest and the most unfair of teachers."

"Oh, that's right. You used to be a huntsman, didn't you?"

A small grin formed on Robin's lips. "Of sorts. I was many things in life, but my fondest memories are of those when I was working with an old militia group."

"…What were they like?" Jaune asked. When he received a raised eyebrow in response, he quickly added, "I-I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to or anything, but it's just - "

To his surprise, Robin started to laugh. "It is quite alright. I was merely surprised that you'd be curious about my past. I would have expected such a question from Miss Belladonna or Miss Schnee as both of them are inquisitive souls."

"U-Umm…sorry?"

"Nothing to apologize for," Robin said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Now, I say that I traveled with a militia, and on paper, it was. But in all honesty, we were nothing more than a rag-tag group of misfits. Every one of us had a quirk that defined us, something that separated us from the usual crowd. For instance, there was one guy who could communicate with crows, another who managed to be perfectly _average_ at anything he did, another who had an entire library and plus stored in her brain, and a woman who said she was at least a hundred times our age yet looked the same age as us."

"And you? What was your thing?"

"Me? Well, that's for me to know and you to figure out. That is, if you're up to the task."

Jaune was silent for a few seconds as he reviewed what he knew about Robin. And then he once again came to the realization that he knew very little of the man.

"You're uh…too relaxed?"

"Good try, but no. In any case, live combat would be my answer to your question. Partially."

"What do you mean?"

"…" Robin didn't say anything, opting to stare at Jaune. If he was being honest, the gaze he was under was unnerving. "…Tell me, Mister Arc, why do you fight? This is not me asking why you want to become a huntsman; you have already explained that bit during your entire spiel earlier. This is me asking you why you _fight._ "

Jaune lowered his gaze and thought on the question. For the first couple of seconds, he thought of his family's history and how they fought in the War, and how he wanted to uphold that reputation. He was about to say that as his answer but there was something in the back of his mind telling him that it was not the answer. It was definitely a reason, yes, but it wasn't _the_ answer.

And then the faces of his team popped into his head. Nora, the hyper-energetic girl whose physical strength did not match her body's stature. Ren, always calm and composed, and always willing to lend a hand or ear.

Then there was Pyrrha.

A small smile rose to his face the moment she came to mind for some odd reason. He honestly didn't know what he did to deserve such a friend like her. She was kind, caring, down to earth, and was always willing to stick by his side. It didn't matter to her that he wasn't good at fighting, nor did it matter that he faked his way into Beacon. Even when he was being pressured by Cardin and pushed her away for his own foolish and selfish reasons, she stuck by him and was even willing to help train him.

There was also the fact that her eyes seemed to sparkle when she smiled at him and how he was always happier when with her, but that was neither here nor there. In fact, Jaune didn't know what that was in the first place, so he figured that it wasn't really anything of importance.

And it wasn't just her that stayed by his side throughout all of this. Ren and Nora were also worried for him and offered him their help even though he didn't ask for it nor did he deserve it. Ruby's team was also worried for him.

Slowly, his answer to Robin's question became so simple.

"I… My friends…" Jaune took in a deep breath as his hands curled into fists. "…I don't want to let them down. They've always been willing to help me out even though I pushed them away, and then I yelled at them, at _her_ , and hurt her. But, even though I was a terrible friend, partner, and team leader…even though I really shouldn't have been let off so easily, they forgave me after a single apology. More than that, they're still willing to help me and stick by my side.

"So that's why I want to get stronger. Why I want to become a huntsman." Jaune steeled his gaze and looked at Robin. "They did so much for me, so I want to get strong. So that I won't let them down again, and so that I can be someone that deserves to stand by their side, not only as their team leader, but as their friend."

For a few seconds, Robin said nothing. Then he sucked in his bottom lip ever so slightly. Then he pursed his lips. And then a strange sound came from his throat. It wasn't until he covered his mouth with a hand that Jaune realized that the impromptu professor was trying to hold back his laughter. The moment the realization hit Jaune, Robin actually did burst into laughter.

And he continued to laugh for a full minute.

"I must admit: it's been a _long_ time since I've heard something like that," Robin finally said as his laughter began to die down. The grin on his face didn't follow the laughter, unfortunately. "That is, without a doubt, one of the cheesiest responses that one can give, Mister Arc."

"S-Sorry…"

"There is nothing to be sorry about, Mister Arc," Robin said. "As naive as your reasons are, they are what will carry you far. If it is for the sake of others, you'll find that you won't be giving up as easily."

"What do you mean?"

Robin gave him a slight chuckle. "It is much simpler than you think, Mister Arc. What I mean is exactly that. You being here is already a prime example, is it not? You said it yourself that you wish to become a better leader and become stronger for the sake of your teammates and your friends. Can you tell me with complete honesty that you'd be sitting here, in my office, were it not for that very reason?"

Jaune really couldn't refute that statement and managed to give him a nod in response.

"And while I said that your reasoning is naive, it is not necessarily a bad thing," Robin continued. There was a faraway look in his eyes that Jaune was unable to catch. "It's the ones with that sort of mentality that make the heroes in novels and the like, after all."

"I…don't think the rules of a novel and story can apply to real life," Jaune grumbled. Then realizing that he might have come off a bit rude, he quickly added, "N-No offense."

"No offense taken, Mister Arc," Robin said with a small smile. "And besides, who's to say that your life will _not_ be a story some day? I highly doubt that that the legendary figures of Remnant began their journey knowing that they'd be recorded in history. And every single one of them fought for the sake of others."

"Of course, this is not me telling you that, just because you have a self-sacrificing and slightly altruistic motive, you will become a hero-like figure in the future. Just because one has the potential does not mean that one will. You could very well be the main character of one story, _your_ story, but you could also very easily be a side character, or even a background character, in another's."

Jaune took a few seconds to let those words sink in. Then a dry smile appeared on his face. "I guess the others were right."

"Mm?"

"Pyrrha, Blake, and Weiss… They were talking about how you spoke to them like some sort of mentor the other day. They said that, even though every one of their situations and problems were different, you were able to give them sound advice to help them out in one way or another." Jaune reached up and sheepishly scratched the back of his head. "I was just thinking that the three of them were right."

"I'm glad to have been able to help," Robin replied. "In any case, I do believe that you've found your answer?"

"I…think so," Jaune said with a slow nod. "Basically, you're saying that strength can come in different forms. It's up to each individual on its interpretation, but the truest form on strength is when you pursue it for the sake of others and not yourself. Right?"

Instead of giving him a clear response, Robin smirked, saying, "I will neither confirm nor deny that. You said it yourself, did you not? That strength is defined by each individual?"

It took all of Jaune's willpower to not sputter in indignation. In hindsight, he should have expected an answer like that. He may not know much about the enigmatic shopkeeper, but the one thing that Jaune was able to gather about him was the fact that he tended to ask open-ended questions, like when talking about his Semblance. To this day, Jaune and his team still didn't know what it was.

A knock suddenly came from the office door, throwing Jaune out of his reverie.

"Yes?" Robin called.

The door opened with a _click_ and Professor Goodwitch stepped inside.

"Evening, Professor," Robin cordially said. "It is good to see you up and about again."

"Robin." Professor Goodwitch returned the greeting with a nod. "And it is good to be no longer bedridden." She then turned her head to look at Jaune. "Mister Arc."

"H-Hello, Professor. Are…you feeling better?" Jaune hesitantly asked. The woman was terrifying even when she was just looking at him.

"I am quite well, thank you for asking," she replied. Jaune might have imagined it, but there was the slightest tug on her lips for a fraction of a second. "If I might ask, what brings you here?"

"Mister Arc here simply had a question that he needed to ask me," Robin answered in his stead. "We were just about done when you came in, which, I'm assuming, means that my time here at Beacon is done?"

Professor Goodwitch's gaze lingered on Jaune for a second longer before turning to Robin with a glint in her eyes.

"If you wish to leave, then you may. However, from what I've seen and heard, I've found that you are quite the phenomenal instructor in combat class, and you also seem to have the time to talk to your students one-on-one. I would like to offer you an extension of your stay here as an instructor here at - "

"Nope!" Robin immediately cut her off. "Two days was more than enough. I'd be _more_ than happy to relinquish this job back to you and get back to running my shop."

An amused look appeared on Professor Goodwitch's face. "Pity. Very well. If that is your wish, then I shall respect it."

"Thank you for understanding. Now, if you don't mind, I'll be taking my leave now." Robin stood up and looked at Jaune. "Mister Arc, if, by chance, you have more questions, you'll know where to find me."

With that, he took a single step before vanishing into thin air.

 _ **. . .**_

Glynda fought the urge to shake her head in exasperation. She never thought that she'd meet someone that was more of an enigma than Ozpin, yet Robin was just that.

"U-Umm…" Jaune slowly rose from his seat as his eyes danced around the room. "I think I'll be leaving now."

She gave him a nod. "Farewell, Mister Arc. I shall see you in class later this week."

The student all but scampered out of the room, leaving her alone in her office that now held the faint aroma of coffee. As she took a look around, she noticed Robin really didn't change much, leaving almost everything untouched. The only thing that wasn't there before she fell ill was the small table to the side of the room that had a coffee brewer sitting on it.

Then, just as she was making her way around the office table to sit, she noticed something. It wasn't anything big or anything - rather, it was quite literally a tiny matter.

"Perhaps the man is more of a clean freak than I expected," Glynda muttered to herself. "There isn't a single speck of dust anywhere."

No matter where she looked in the room, it was true. Even the cabinets in the back of the office were clean, and if her memory served, she last remembered them having a thin layer of dust on top of them. She was going to clean them in the future, but then she caught that cold, throwing her cleaning plans out the window.

"I must thank Robin for having cleaned the room in my absence. I wonder if he'd share his cleaning techniques with me. If he managed to get the office to be _this_ free of dust in just two days, then I'd love to learn how to do so as well."

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Oh, Glynda, I'm pretty sure you** _ **don't**_ **want to know how the room got that clean in the first place.**

 **And for a fic about a man running a coffee shop, this chapter and the previous haven't really been about the coffee shop, has it? If the ending of this chapter is anything to go by, then things** _ **should**_ **be centered around the cafe.**

 **…Maybe. We'll see where my brain takes me for ideas since I don't really have a storyline for** _**'** ** _S_ hepherd'**_ **. I'm just flinging ideas at a wall to see what sticks when writing this. And when writing out _'Plegia's Strategist'_. There is no roadmap for either story. Wtf is wrong with me.**

 _ **. . .**_

 **On a completely different note (mostly), I've been thinking of doing a Fire Emblem x My Hero Academy crossover fic since there isn't a** _ **single**_ **crossover in that fandom yet. I have three ideas for it, the three being:  
\- Robin as a student at Yuuei.  
\- Robin as a teacher at Yuuei.  
\- Robin as a vagabond in the MHA universe and being the guy who's always at the wrong place and at the wrong time, somehow getting caught up in the canonical events of MHA.**

 **I'm leaning more towards the last once since I'd have the most freedom in it while writing.**

 **But then again, that'd require a good amount of time investment and it'd be** _ **another**_ **story that I'd have to keep my mind on. I'm barely managing to work on the ones I'm working on now (failing at it, if I'm being totally honest), and that's with me just thinking of crap to write on the spot for both _'_** _ **Plegia's Strategist'**_ **and** _**'** ** _S_ hepherd'**_ **(I'm basically half-assing these two stories). Unless, of course, I do the same thing with the FExMHA fic and just not take it seriously.**

 **I'm also thinking of adopting the story _'_** _ ** _Half-_ Hot Half-Cold'**_ **from user ICanRememberThis, but once again, the same problem of time investment comes up.**

 **Decisions decisions…**


	10. A Different Timeline?

_**~ Based off of an excerpt from Chapter 7 of**_ **A Shepherd's Rest** _ **:  
\- "You're [Snow/Summer] a lovely woman. Perhaps in a different timeline."**_

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

Robin and Summer Alius, the owners of a small villa on the tiny island of Patch, were proud to say that they had a wonderful daughter. At the age of seven, she unlocked her Aura on by her lonesome. By the time she was twelve, she unlocked her Semblance, one that was hereditary and inherited from Summer. And at the age of fifteen, she was accepted into Beacon Academy, which had an age requirement of seventeen.

How did she get accepted into Beacon two years early? The answer is quite elementary. She simply -

"You fought the criminal, Roman Torchwick, on your own?! What were you thinking?!"

Their daughter, Ruby, flinched from her mother's scolding tone, and Robin raised an eyebrow in mild surprise. It was very rare that Summer would raise her voice, but he understood why she did so.

While yes, it could've been said in a gentler tone, Summer wasn't entirely wrong. Torchwick may not be a huntsman, but he was still a very skilled and cunning fighter. Ruby, on the other hand, was still in combat school in Signal, and was very much inexperienced. And yet, she was able to push the thief back without bringing harm upon herself or the civilians around her.

With this in mind, Robin gently placed his hand on Summer's shoulder. "Now now, all's well that ends well, right? Ruby's safe. That's all that matters."

"But - "

"No no, none of that." Robin cut her off and began playing with her high-ponytail with his hands. "Ruby just got accepted into Beacon two years early, so why not celebrate? Tai messaged me earlier to see if we wanted to visit before Yang departs for Beacon. It'd be a good time to tell them that Ruby will be attending Beacon this year."

Ruby's face, which was downcast from Summer's reprimanding, lit up instantly. "We're going to their house?!"

"That's right. We're going as soon as you're ready, so get changed quickly, okay?" Robin smiled.

He wasn't even finished speaking when Ruby vanished, leaving behind nothing but a fading trail of rose petals. As the last of the petals vanished, Summer let out a sigh.

"I'm worried for her, Robin," she admitted. "What if she's not ready for Beacon?"

"Ozpin is the headmaster. I don't think _anyone_ is ready for his…antics. Not even Glynda," Robin said. He was still playing with her hair.

"But what if she gets hurt?"

"That's to be expected, isn't it? Beacon is a combat school where the students train to fight Grimm at a higher level."

"What if she doesn't make any friends? What if her teammates are less than desirable? What if - "

"The world is full of 'what if' scenarios, Summer. While being cautious is really never a bad thing, too much worrying can be," he calmly said. "And besides, she's _our_ daughter. What could possibly go wrong?"

Summer shook her head and laughed. "Robin, there wasn't a _single_ week that our team wouldn't get in trouble, mainly due to you and Tai."

"In my defense, it was because of Tai that we kept getting caught," Robin grumbled. "That guy has the grace and stealth of a drunken Goliath, and I think we both know how a drunk Grimm acts, all thanks to yours truly."

He received a light punch to his chest in return.

"You laugh because you weren't the one that had to explain to Glynda why a herd of Goliaths uprooted half the trees in the Grey Forest," Summer frowned, only for his grin to widen.

"You're right. I laugh because _you_ were the one that had to tell Glynda why a herd of Goliaths uprooted, correction here, by the way, only forty-eight percent of the trees in the Grey Forest. It could've easily been much worse. Besides, in doing so, I revolutionized the studies of Grimm! Who knew that soulless beings can get intoxicated?"

Summer punched him again. "Why did I marry you…"

"Good question. When you figure it out, do let me know so that I know the answer as well," Robin playfully replied. "Now, come on. I hear Ruby running down the stairs and you know how she gets when she's eager to meet Yang."

 _ **. . .**_

The news barely made it out of Summer's mouth before Ruby was assaulted by a bear hug from the daughter of the Xiao-Long family.

"I'm so proud of you, Rubes!" Yang squealed as she tackled Ruby in a hug. "You get to be in my year at Beacon!"

Due to her being a bear hug while also carrying the weight of a running Yang, the smaller and lighter Ruby was sent tumbling off the porch instantly. The two of them landed in the clearing in front of the Xiao Long house, and right in front of Robin, who simply laughed as the cookie that was originally in Ruby's mouth comically flew through the air.

"Puah!" With great difficulty, Ruby pushed herself away from her assaulter and took in a deep breath. "It's not that big of a deal, Yang. I'm sure a bunch of people got accepted into Beacon early!"

"Actually, no. You're the first student in history to be accepted early, much less get invited by the headmaster himself," Tai corrected as he leaned against the porch railing. "It really is something to be proud of."

"That's what I've been saying, but she just refuses to hear it," Robin chuckled, ruffling his daughter's hair. "At this rate, she'll surpass both me and Summer before we know it!"

Ruby let out a string of incomprehensible mumbles and pulled her hood low over her face in an attempt to hide her embarrassment. As she did so, the house door opened as a woman with flowing, dark hair stepped out. She glanced at Ruby before walking over to sit down by the porch table with an amused expression on her face.

"It's like seeing Summer in her first year all over again," Raven quipped as her eyes landed on Ruby once more.

"I know, right? I guess there's no need to worry about their relationship!" Tai laughed.

"What?! I wasn't that bad, was I?" Summer asked, taking a seat next to Raven.

"Oh please, you were worse. You couldn't go two sentences without your voice dying down to a squeak." Raven rested her elbow on the table and smirked. "And don't even get me started on that hood of yours. Never down unless you were taking a shower or sleeping, and there were times when you'd sleep with that hood on."

Summer's face turned the color of her daughter's namesake. She then looked to Robin for help. "Robin, say something!"

"I mean, she's not wrong," Robin said with a what-can-I-really-say look on his face. "That hood of yours was up for more than half our time at Beacon. It wasn't until the last few months of our second year that you started _occasionally_ taking your hood off when you were around us, and it was almost halfway into our third year that you began openly walking around without your hood."

"W-Well, the same could be said for you and that coat of yours!" Summer countered, desperate to shift the attention away from her. "You wore that thing almost every day! You're even wearing it now!"

"In my defense, it's all I had on me when I was found by the Branwen tribe." Robin shrugged as he straightened out his trademark coat, causing the golden lining to glint in the sunlight, despite its faded color. "Also, it's really comfortable. Like, _really_ comfortable."

"He's not wrong," Raven said, mirroring her half-brother's words from less than a minute ago. "It _is_ really comfortable. We all ganged up on him to try it on before, remember? And you fell asleep in it more than a few times. I still have the photos," she added with a teasing grin.

"Wha - !" Steam could be seen rising from Summer's head. "R-Raven! You said you deleted those! I even saw you delete them!"

Raven's shit-eating grin only grew wider as she whistled, "Something called a cloud drive, Summer. I might've erased them from my scroll, but the cloud data still has all of them. All. Two. Hundred."

Summer could only let out a defeated squeak as her face dropped onto the table's surface, causing the other three members of STAR to laugh.

And then _it_ happened.

All four members of STAR shot to their feet. They didn't know what it was, but something was off. Over a decade of combat had sharpened their instincts to a razor's edge, and right now, their instincts were warning them about a powerful presence within their midst.

"Kids, behind me, _now_ ," Tai firmly said.

Yang and Ruby didn't know what put their respective parents on edge, but they obeyed without a word. Just as they reached the front of the house, there was a deafening _crack_ , not unlike glass shattering, and a tear formed in the air itself in the clearing. The tear then began to grow, splitting into branches as white light seeped through the cracks.

"Summer, Raven, keep the girls safe," Robin said, his voice calm and resolute.

Although he couldn't deny Raven and Summer's fighting skills as they've beaten him more times than he won against them in a spar, none of them had their weapons with them in a foolish choice to leave their weapons in their respective homes. The two women of STAR could beat the men of the team anytime with their weapons, but when it came to hand-to-hand combat, Robin and Tai stood a head above the rest.

Which is why when Robin and Taiyang stepped forward to place themselves between their family and the spacial crack, no one objected.

"Any idea as to what this could be?" Tai asked Robin, settling himself into his posture. His legs squared out and his fists were raised in front of him, looking similar, but not exactly like, a standard kickboxing stance.

On the other hand, Robin stood with his back almost straight. His body was angled sideways with his right foot forward, and his left arm was raised in front of his neck. His right arm was loose by his side, but still ready to snap up in a fraction of a second.

"Your guess is as good as mine," Robin replied. He flexed his fingers and activated his Semblance, causing lightning to flicker at his fingertips. "I'm thinking Chrome. You?"

A small grin appeared on Tai's face. "I was thinking Golden Spark myself, but yeah, Chrome sounds better in this situation. You lead?"

Robin nodded as he shuffled forward a single step. Shard of near-invisible air fell away, giving them the feeling that whatever was coming through the spacial crack would be coming soon.

Then the crack shattered and a hooded figure came stumbling out of it. This much, Robin expected. What he _didn't_ expect, however, was for a powerful gust of wind to accompany the figure, which pushed both him and Tai back halfway to the porch and knocking them both off balance.

"Did I make it? I really hope I did…"

Judging from the voice, the hooded figure was a female. Her cowl was pulled low over her head, covering most of her face, and what little of her features was only her dark hair. Her head moved around as she took in her surroundings until her gaze finally landed on Robin.

"Who - ?"

That one word escaped Robin's lips before the woman seemingly vanished. Not a second later, something crashed into him and threw him onto the ground. It took him a moment to realize that the woman had tackled him.

"Robin!" "Dad!"

"It worked!" The woman sat on his stomach and had an ecstatic grin on her face. She threw her arms up into the air in joy. "Ahahaha! It worked! I can't believe it actually worked!"

"Uhh…what?"

Robin blanked. Evident by the strange look on his face, so did Tai.

Then the woman then looked up and her eyes landed on the rest of his family. In an instant, she was no longer straddling Robin, but was instead crouching down in front of Ruby, who let out a startled squeak. The only reason why Robin knew that the woman didn't teleport was due to the few leaves that were blown into the air, creating a path of sorts from Robin to where she was standing now.

"So this is mini-me, huh? Can't really blame the teasing I got about my height, now that I look at it," the woman offhandedly said. "Really was short back then. Or…now, in this case."

Raven got over her surprise before anyone else and placed herself between the stranger and Ruby. A fraction of a second later, Summer hurriedly pushed Yang and Ruby behind her, while Tai helped Robin to his feet. The two of them cautiously approached the woman from the back as her attention was on Raven.

"Heya, Auntie Raven!"

With those two words, the floor was pulled out from underneath every member of the Alius and Xiao-Long families. Not even Raven was able to keep her composure, and in that brief moment of vulnerability, she suddenly found herself being hugged by the stranger.

"A-Auntie - what?!" Raven managed to gather herself and pushed the woman off her. "Who are you?"

"Oh, right, haven't introduced myself yet. Woops!" the woman sheepishly laughed and scratched the back of her head.

The woman pulled back her hood, and Robin's breath got caught in his throat. For a moment, he thought that he was looking at Summer, but that thought was quickly discarded upon seeing the few streaks of white in the woman's hair. Her hair was also shorter than Summer's, falling just past her shoulders.

And then the woman's words finally clicked in his head.

"You said _"mini-me"_ … And _"Auntie Raven"_ … Plus, the way you moved from where you were before to there in a blink of an eye…" Robin's eyes slowly widened as it all came together. "You… You're telling me that…that you're…"

The woman gave Robin a bright smile. "Figures you'd be the first one to get it. You were always thinking a few steps ahead, and your insight was always second to none. Would you like to do the honors?"

Robin shook his head. "If you're truly who I think you are, then you should be the one to tell them your identity. You always liked telling Summer and me any new reveals with fervor."

"Ahaha, yeah, that part hasn't changed much," the woman laughed. She then turned to the others. "Hey, guys. To you, I might just be some strange person that came out of an interdimensional portal-slash-crack in the air, and you'd only be half right. In fact, you know me quite well, for you've been interacting with "me" - " She made air quotes in the air to emphasize her point. " - a lot. To me, however, you are all faces that I haven't seen since…ten minutes ago?

"Where I'm from, I go by Morgan Alius Rose. Here, on the other hand, I think you would know me better as Ruby Alius. Or the future version of the little one standing right over there…" She pointed at fifteen-year-old Ruby behind Summer. "…just about eleven-ish years from now."

 _ **. . .**_

After the initial shock of having a time-traveling Ruby in their midst, the two families, time-traveler included, took the conversation inside the house. They were mostly quiet as Robin prepared drinks for everyone, and the only talk that was going on was from Present-Ruby to Future-Ruby.

"I get really tall in the future," Present-Ruby said with starry eyes.

"Well, I wouldn't say _really_ tall, but taller than average," Future-Ruby laughed.

"And you're not even wearing heels!"

"Hm?" Future-Ruby looked down at her feet. "Oh, yeah. I used to wear them a lot, but after a while, I started wearing boots. Can't really explain it, but there's just something about combat boots that just feels… _nice_ , y'know? Also, heels kept getting caught in things, like grates and tree roots. Not the best thing to happen when you're in a fight."

"How'd you get your white hair?"

"Was born with them, little-me. I'm surprised that you actually don't have any white in your hair. Maybe it's a super recessive gene."

A plate of cookies was set on the table alongside a drink for each member seated. As he sat down in an open chair next to Summer, Robin gave Future-Ruby a curious look.

"So, Ruby."

"Yeah?" "Yes?"

Both future and present Ruby turned their head to look at him, and Robin felt the beginnings of a headache form. Fortunately, that problem was nipped in the bud immediately.

"Ah, I see how this could be a problem," Future-Ruby laughed. "You can call me by my other name, 'Morgan'. It's what I went by a lot in the future."

"I actually have a question about that. Earlier, you introduced yourself as 'Morgan Alius Rose'," Tai recalled. "Can I ask why you changed your name, including the family names?"

"Oh, that? It's nothing big, to be honest. During my enrollment at Beacon, I might have sort of accidentally messed up on the name part and wrote 'Morgan' in the first name box and 'Ruby' in the middle name box. Then I also wrote 'Rose' instead of 'Alius' in the last name box, so…yeah." Morgan scratched the back of her head and sported a sheepish grin. "So after four years of most people calling me 'Morgan Rose' and a lot of my papers having 'Morgan' written on it instead of 'Ruby', I kinda got used to that name."

"Ozpin didn't bother to change - actually, that actually sounds like something he'd do," Robin grumbled. "Insufferable old man."

"And messing up your application definitely sounds like a Ruby-like thing to do," Yang laughed.

Both Morgan and Ruby's faces turned the color of their namesakes as everyone else laughed. Just as the laughter began to die down, Morgan jumped as if she remembered something important.

"Speaking of things that people do, you guys wanna hear about the really stupid thing that Dad does in the future?" Morgan gleefully asked.

With the exception of one Robin, everyone in the room nodded in agreement. Ruby nodded as well, if only to get the attention off of her.

"What did my idiot brother do?" Raven asked with a shit-eating grin on her face.

"What did the idiotic future-me do?" Robin asked as well, only his voice was laced with dread.

The grin on Morgan's face only grew wider as she leaned forward a little. "So, get this: in the future, only a couple of years after my graduation from Beacon, some sailors find an uncharted island way south of Vacuo." Her grin faltered for a second. "Well, calling it an island is a little unfair since the drones showed it to almost be the size of Menagerie, but I digress.

"So, as I was saying, finding a new land was a pretty big deal, and everyone in the world was going crazy about it. A week later, you know what Dad does? He causes the land to vanish into nothing. Poof. Gone."

It took a few seconds for what she said to click in everyone's heads. When it did…

"He _what_?!"

"GAHAHAHAHAHAHA! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

"Daaaaaadddd…"

"Robin! How - Why would you do such a thing?"

"Only you would do something like that, Robin. Only you."

Unlike the others, Robin was rendered speechless. His mouth opened and shut like a fish, and his brain worked overtime to formulate a response.

It didn't work.

"That - That's absolutely brilliant!" Tai said in between gasps of air. "That definitely tops any prank we pulled at Beacon!"

"Robin!" Summer glared at her petrified husband. "How did you get rid of an entire continent?!"

"I - I don't… What… How?!" Robin sputtered. "How did I manage to wipe a continent off the world?!"

"That's what I'm asking you!"

"And I'm asking my future-self - wait…I can't do that…" Robin turned to look at Morgan. "How did future-me wipe out an entire continent?"

"Knowing you, it was probably a prank-gone-wrong," Raven teasingly smirked. "Wouldn't be too far fetched as an answer, nor would it be for Tai to be involved."

"Don't try and keep yourself out of this. The only innocent one in our team was Summer, who was too afraid to get caught," Tai said. "You were the one behind a good portion of the pranks starting our third year, Ray."

Yang's jaw dropped to the floor. "Wait wait wait, what? _Mom_ pulled _pranks_?"

"Of course. Where do you think you got your pranking genes from? Your father?" Raven scoffed and flicked a lock of hair over her shoulder. "Your father couldn't pull off a good prank if his life depended on it. His best one is worse than an average prank of mine."

"Not wrong about that," Robin chuckled and leaned back in his chair. "Raven made more than a few first years cry throughout our second year, and a rumor started going around about the _Red-Eyed Demon of the West Wing_."

Yang let out a low whistle as she looked at her mother, who was sporting a proud and smug smile, with newfound respect. "Damn, did not know that. Gotta step your game up, pops!"

Tai began grumbling about something under his breath. Evident by the icy glare that Raven sent his way, it was not something pleasant.

"So, how _did_ Dad get rid of a continent?" Ruby asked her future-self, steering the conversation back on track.

"That's just the thing: no one knows how it happened," Morgan said. "A bit of backstory to set things up a little. Since no one really knew what kind of danger was on the continent, a few of teams were sent to scout the landmass, the teams being STAR, HRTH, my team, and another team from my year. Not to brag, but we were the top huntsmen teams of the time."

"Ooh! What team was I in?" Ruby suddenly asked. "Who were my teammates? Are they nice? Did they have really cool weapons? What was my team name?"

Morgan simply smiled and shook her head. "That would be spoilers, little me. What I _can_ tell you, however, is that your teammates are some of the best people you'll meet in your life."

Satisfied with the answer, Ruby leaned back into her chair and took a cookie from the table. Her sixteenth one.

"So, Dad's team and my team began scouting the area while HRTH and J - the fourth team set up a supply zone and camp. We didn't see any Grimm while we were scouting, which was really weird, and after a few klicks of walking, there was this really big tree in the distance. Like, _really_ big. Like, taller-than-the-clouds big. Strangely enough, there was a winding staircase built into the tree itself, so we decided to climb it.

"It took hours to reach the top of the tree. And when we got there, there was this - actually…" Morgan reached into her pocket and took out her scroll, which looked a lot sleeker and much fancier than the latest scroll model that was released last month. Truly something from the future. "…I've a photo of it."

Morgan set her scroll onto the table and a series of holographic images popped up in the air above it. Some photos had a giant tree as its main focus, showing the sheer size of it, and Robin estimated that it was at least four or five times the size of Beacon. The other photos displayed a vast and magnificent garden. Flowers of every color were in full bloom in a sea of lively grass, and the sunlight that shined down gave the garden a warm and natural filter.

"It's beautiful…" Summer softly gasped.

Yang nodded in agreement. "Hard to believe that was on the _top_ of a tree."

"Didn't expect that, did'ya?" Morgan grinned. "There's more, by the way."

"More of the tree or more of what we didn't expect?" Robin asked.

"Yes", was Morgan's reply.

There was a chuckle from Tai. "Don't think we can be any more surprised. We have a time-traveling Ruby in our midst and we just found out that there's a yet-to-be-discovered continent on Remnant that has a tree the size of a friggin island on it."

With a knowing grin, Morgan swiped her finger across her screen, causing the images to change. The tree and garden vanished, replaced by the ruins of a temple. Time had taken its toll on it, evident by the number of vines and foliage and covered the majority of the walls and floor.

"…I stand corrected," Tai said with a miffed expression.

"A lost ruin that still stands against time… Oobleck must've lost his mind upon the news," Robin said.

"Oh, he did. And cried," Morgan immediately replied. "As in he legitimately bawled his eyes out when you made the continent vanish. Kept going on about how it was a tremendous loss to the world, both figuratively and literally, and went on a two-year expedition to find any more uncharted lands that bore no fruit.

"But anyhoo, as to how Dad managed to make that continent vanish…" A new image was pulled up: a large, stone archway with strange characters engraved into it. "…We found this not far into the temple. When Dad approached it and placed a hand on it, the markings on it began to glow a bright blue. Then this weird, milky veil appeared out of nowhere in the archway, and that's when we realized that it was a gate of sorts."

Everyone leaned forward in their seats to look at the photos. After a moment, Yang asked the question that was in everyone's mind.

"A gate to where?"

Morgan shrugged. "Don't know. It vanished almost right after appearing so we never really had a chance to look at it closely. Though, just before it actually vanished, we saw a ghost.

Silence fell upon the entire table. Even present-Ruby looked confused.

"What."

"Yup."

"No, don't just _"yup"_ like it answers everything. What do you mean by a ghost?" Raven practically demanded. "Actually, you know what? I somehow find that easier to believe than my time-traveling niece from the future."

"Heh heh, you had that same reaction to the ghost-lady in the future, Auntie Raven. But yeah, ghost… I mean exactly that," Morgan answered. "The woman was see-through and floated off the ground. I threw a rock at her and it just went _whoosh_ , right through her! What's that if not a ghost?"

"Son of a mother, it's like I'm listening to Summer," Raven exasperatedly said.

"No, I'm a _daughter_ of a mother."

Raven, in turn, pinched the bridge of her nose. "And now it's Robin…"

"To be fair - " Robin started.

"Shut it, Robin." Raven cut him off instantly.

" - I _am_ their daughter," Morgan finished with a grin. "Best of both worlds, right?"

There was the scraping sound of chair legs against the wooden floor as Raven stood from her seat. Without another word, she left grabbed her sword and walked out of the house, and despite her excellent poker face, everyone, sans one Ruby, knew what she was going to be doing.

"Guess we'll be getting more firewood soon," Yang said as the front door slammed shut.

"Good thing that winter is only seven months away, right?" Tai jokingly added as he got out of his own seat. "I'll see if I can calm her down."

Robin's eyes widened as he hurriedly said, "I highly advise that you do _not_ attempt to calm her, Tai. We both know how Raven can get, and didn't you learn from the previous dozen times that you tried to do so?"

"Eh." There was only a shrug of Tai's shoulders. "I'm her husband. What's she going to do? Kill me?"

"I'll make sure to put that line on your gravestone as flavor-text," Robin vowed as he slowly waved his hand across the air. "It'll read, _'Last words spoken by Taiyang Xiao Long: "What's she going to do? Kill me?"'_ I'll even make sure to add a little note that it was your wife that's the subject in that sentence."

Tai flipped up a single finger at Robin before stepping out the door to follow his wife. Not a second after the door closed behind him, eyes turned to Morgan again, giving her the silent message to continue.

"So yeah, the ghost," Morgan said as she pocketed her scroll. "Didn't get to take a picture since I had my scroll away the time, but she was really pretty for a ghost. Looked like some sort of princess since she had a tiara. Had green hair and wore a red, one-piece dress. Oh, and a cape. She had a pink cape. And pointy ears. Can't forget the cute, pointy ears."

"A faunus?" Summer guessed.

Morgan shook her head and tilted her chair back on its back legs. "Nope. She said that she was a mana…mana…mana-something. It started with "mana", but I kinda forget the last bit."

"I see…" Robin made a mental note to look into that at a later time.

"But yeah, the pretty ghost-lady seemed to know you, Dad," Morgan added. "And I say that as in she _personally_ knew you."

"Oooh, Uncle Robin~" Yang slyly wagged her eyebrows. "Are you seeing someone else?"

Summer turned to look at Robin with a look of complete betrayal and hurt. With a hesitant and weak voice, she uttered a single word, "Robin?"

"What?! No! Of course not!" Robin exclaimed.

"Don't worry, Mom. You and Dad are practically inseparable in the future. Joined at the hip, so to speak," Morgan reassuringly said.

The married couple let out a sigh of relief as Ruby inconspicuously leaned over to Yang.

"Hey, Yang? What did you mean when you said that Dad might be seeing someone?" Ruby whispered.

The future 'Y' of 'RWBY' feigned ignorance as she stuck her tongue out. "Who knows, little Rubes? Maybe when you're older."

"But I am older," Morgan cheekily said, causing Yang to sputter in response. "Anyhow, Dad, as I said before, the ghost-lady seemed to know you. Her words to future-you, in verbatim, were, _"It has been some time, Robin. It does me well that you've finally found what you've been searching for…and at peace."_ "

Robin's brow furrowed at the words. "Found what I've been searching for?"

"Any idea what it means?" Summer asked.

"Nope. None at all." Robin shook his head before frowning. "But, really? Did she really have to say _'at peace'_? Makes it sound like I died or something. I'd like to think I'm very much full of life, not some weird revenant!"

"Hehehe, imagine if Dad was from a different world," Ruby brightly grinned. "That'd make us like heroes of a story, wouldn't it? Ooh! Do you think we have some sort of magical powers?"

Morgan laughed at her younger self's antics. "No magic for us, little me. The closest thing we'll ever get to that are Semblances, and even then, elemental ones like Dad's are extremely rare. Speaking of Dad's Semblance…"

The moment Morgan trailed off and began to raise her hand, Robin's eyes slowly widened.

"…No…" he half-whispered and half-gasped.

In turn, Morgan gave him a knowing grin. "Yes." She looked back at Ruby just as lightning sparked to life at her fingertips. "We're Dual-Semblance wielders, you and I."

"Say what?!" Yang's mouth was a perfect circle. At the pace that her eyes were moving back and forth from Ruby to Morgan, one would've thought that she was watching a tennis match.

"Two Semblances…" Summer whispered in awe. "The last time someone had that…"

"The last time someone wielded two Semblances changed the tide of the Great War," Raven finished, having returned just in time to see Morgan's display. Tai was right behind her, sporting a red handprint on his cheek while wearing a sheepish look on his face. "It's the reason why the Warrior King of Vale was able to win, although the history books like to say otherwise. Despite what you were taught, the Warrior King had one person that he considered to be his brother-in-arms, which is how and why he was able "single-handedly" take down countless men."

"Ray, that's just your own theory," Summer tiredly said. "Most historians and scholars say that it was due to Vacuo's weather patterns and the fact that Mantle didn't know desert warfare at that time."

"They can believe what they want, just know that they're wrong," Raven huffed.

Before Summer and Raven's little argument escalated, Morgan butt in. "Anyhoo, little me! You should try and get your second Semblance up and active ASAP! Trust me on this: the first time you activate it, it'll make you super tired."

"It does?" "It did?" Robin and Ruby asked respectively.

"Yup! Almost knocked me out when it happened to me, and I was in my third year!" Morgan replied more to Ruby than Robin. "Eheh, it was really embarrassing. It activated in the middle of my second Vytal Festival during the doubles match. Thank the small miracles that it was able to take out my opponent's Aura so that Bla - my teammate didn't get ganged up on."

"How did you activate it?" Ruby brightly asked.

Morgan scratched the back of her head. "Weellll, I don't know. It was kind of a in-the-moment sorta thing, y'know? Tensions were a little high since we were up against a team that my team was friends with, and we really, _really_ didn't want to lose."

"Ha! I get that!" Tai laughed, nudging Robin on the shoulder. "It's like us and Hestia's team!"

"Did you win the festival?" Yang asked.

"Pfft. Obviously," Morgan lightheartedly scoffed in response.

"Niiicee," Yang grinned. Her grin then turned into a frown. "Wait, what about my team? Did my team ever win?"

There was a look of contemplation on Morgan's face before her lips curled upward into an impish smile. "If I told you, "No", what would you do?"

"WHAT!? NO WAY!" Yang slammed her hands onto the table. "I lose to Ruby's team?!"

"I will neither confirm nor deny that."

"Your brat beat my brat?" Raven asked Robin, who gave her a shrug.

"I guess I got the superior genetics," Robin smirked.

"I will hurt you."

"I don't doubt that you will and would, but that doesn't change the fact that my daughter has two Semblances and beats Yang in the Vytal Festival," Robin said. His voice bordered on the line between pride and arrogance, and Raven's hand inched towards her sword.

Just like how Morgan did earlier to diffuse a potential argument, Summer cut in to save her husband from being attacked by Raven.

"Back to the story that keeps getting derailed," Summer hastily said. "Morgan, how did Robin make a continent vanish? You never got to that part."

Morgan's brow furrowed for a second before widening. "Oh, right! The story!"

"Heh, I guess that forgetfulness part of Ruby is still the same even in the future," Yang grinned.

"You'd be surprised at how little one changes despite having changed a lot," Morgan replied. "A bit of an oxymoron, but it's true."

Jaws dropped upon hearing Morgan's sagely response. Of all the things to come out of her mouth, words of wisdom were the least expected, which further proved her point.

"So, anyways, after the pretty ghost-lady talked to dad, she faded. Then Dad, being Dad, runs up and tries to grab her vanishing form, misses and ends up running into that weird-looking arched gate I talked about earlier. One of the stones got knocked loose, the gate crumbled, and then the entire tree started to vanish like the ghost lady. Like, the ground started to become see-through and everything.

"Since none of us were really really keen on falling from however high up we were, we ran down the winding stairs as fast as we could. It was like a video game, y'know? Like the ones when you gotta run away from something and you're on a time limit?" She let out a short laugh. "I remember Mom and Dad yelling at Auntie Raven for not having been able to use her Semblance with anyone back at camp."

Robin burst into laughter at that. "HA! That definitely sounds like something Ray would do, given her personality. Avoid making friends and all."

"Hmph. That's because there's hardly anyone worth my time," Raven scoffed.

"That's the same exact answer she gave in the future," Morgan said with a wide grin. "But yeah, Mom and I used our speed Semblances to go ahead of everyone else and then Auntie Raven used her Semblance to bring the rest of the group to camp through us. Then we all got onto the Bullhead as fast as we could and took off as the land vanished."

"And there was no sign of the strange land?" Summer asked.

"Nope!" Morgan replied, popping the 'p'. "The ocean returned to normal within a minute too, like the entire landmass never existed. I think Doc was going on about how a continent vanishing in a blink of an eye would've ruined the ecosystem and all, but honestly, I wasn't really paying attention.

"So yeah, after we returned to the mainlands, we couldn't really keep the news of the island vanishing a secret for that long. The solution that Ozpin and Ironwood came up with was to put that area as another Dark Zone, and the only ones that would ever have clearance to enter would be if they got permission from the both of them."

Robin nodded. "Smart. Only a handful of Huntsmen have the clearance to enter the Dark Zone, so barring the mystery island as another would deter most people from even wanting to go near it. Discouraging the curious, given how dangerous the DZ is."

They sat in silence after that. Not an awkward one, but one that was just content with how things are at the moment. The only sounds that were heard were from Ruby, who was still munching away on the final cookie that was on the plate.

"By the way, Morgan…" The silence was broken by Summer, who threw a curious glance over to her time-traveling daughter. "How do you plan on going back to your time? If you plan on going back, that is."

"Oh, that?" Morgan dismissively waved her hand as she took out a metallic disc from her pocket. "My friend and teammate built this transponder as she worked on the time machine with a few others. Theoretically, it should be able to pinpoint my exact location through some really complicated mumbo jumbo that is time travel. It was on this entire time, so I'm pretty sure that my friend - "

The disc in her hand started to beep, stopping all talk in an instant.

"Speaking of the devil…"

Morgan tossed the disc across the room where it clattered onto the floor. A moment later, the top of the disc opened, revealing a bright light that shot into the ceiling. As everyone watched, the light seemed to solidify in front of their eyes until it was a milky vortex of light-blue.

"Huh, so I guess the portal is a success," Morgan nonchalantly quipped. Contrary to her calmness, everyone else was looking at the portal with awe and surprise. "If everything works out correctly, which in theory, it should, then you'll be meeting my team from the future, and by extension, little-me's team."

Voices started making their way through the portal. It was faint at first, not unlike a whisper, but as time passed, the voices sounded clearer and louder. When the voices seemed as if they were in the same room as everyone else, one could only wonder…

"Are…. Are they arguing? About colors?" Yang asked incredulously.

"Seems like it," Raven said.

Morgan released a tired groan into her hands. "Not again… I thought they would've gotten over this by now…"

A few more seconds passed until three women stepped out of the portal, one of them looking _very_ familiar.

"And I'm just saying, it would've looked a LOT better if it was yellow with an orange outline!"

"How many times must I tell you for it to make it through your thick skull?! I don't get to choose what color it is! It just came out as that light-blue color and there was nothing I could do to change that!"

"Oh, but you could change the initial light color to be anything you wanted, right?"

"This and that are two different things, you complete and utter dunce! One is something that I was able to control by adding a colored lens onto the top, and the other is completely out of my control!"

"Well, why not add a colored lens onto the portal itself? Maybe that could've changed the color of it instead of that baby blue color."

"Because I can't _touch_ the portal!"

"Hey, you might want to stop arguing. We're here."

The two arguing time-travelers looked at their third companion, who wasn't even looking at them. At this, Morgan got off her seat and took a step forward.

"Really? Arguing even though everything's been done with?" Morgan shook her head with a frown marring her features. "I thought the two of you would be more mature than that."

One of the arguing two rolled her eyes as she placed her hands on her hips. "Just because Ice Queen refuses to admit that she's wrong. Besides, it's not as if we're meeting new people. We're meeting our old selves and younger versions of our parents. Which reminds me…" She turned her head and waved at Raven and Taiyang. "Sup, mom, pops."

Raven and Tai both had their jaws on the floor while Yang pointed at the time-traveler.

"That's… You're…me?" Yang asked.

Future-Yang grinned at Present-Yang. "Correct in one, little-me!"

"Holy crap, I'm HOT!"

"Damn right, we are!"

With a roll of her eyes, Morgan faced everyone in the 'present'. "Everyone, I'd like to introduce to you, my team. I'm sure you've figured it out already, but this is Yang."

"Yo," Future-Yang said, waving her hand.

"Hold up, that means that Ruby and I are in the same team!" Yang exclaimed, hugging her smaller girl.

With a smile on her face, Morgan gestured at the one that Future-Yang was arguing with, a woman in a pale-blue dress and snow-white hair that was tied into a ponytail. "Weiss Schnee, the CEO of the newly reformed Schnee Dust Enterprise, or SDE for short."

Weiss curtsied. "Pleasure to meet you all, despite the fact that we've met in our past, your future."

"Wait a sec, Schnee?" Tai's eyebrows shot to the roots of his hair. "Like…the SDC Schnee?"

"The very same," Weiss said with a nod. "I believe at this moment in time, the current-me is only the heiress to the company that I would claim from Jacques Schnee in a few years' time."

"You're also a stuck-up brat at during this time, but don't worry, little-me, little-Rubes," Future-Yang smirked and placed a hand on Weiss' head. "She'll warm up to you sooner or later."

A bit of red appeared on Weiss' cheeks as she shook her head in exasperation. "Quite. As much as I wish to deny that, I must admit that I was…hard to deal with in the past." She looked at Ruby and present-Yang. "I hope that you do not take the younger-me's words to heart when you inevitably meet at Beacon."

"Uhh…sure…" Ruby and Yang replied simultaneously.

"And with that, here's our last teammate!" Morgan beamed and gestured over to a black-haired faunus with cat ears. "Blake Belladonna, once ex-member of the White Fang and now the leader of the twice-reformed White Fang!"

Robin raised a brow. "Twice-reformed?"

Blake nodded at Robin. "As I'm sure you know, the White Fang was originally a peaceful group that was founded by my father, Ghira Belladonna. After he stepped down, the position was claimed by Sierra Khan, who turned the White Fang into a violent group, which is what it currently is right now. After leaving Beacon, I was able to take leadership of the White Fang."

"I see. And what is the White Fang in the future?" Raven asked.

"The White Fang accomplished its goal of equality between humans and faunus after years and with the assistance of many friends," Blake answered. "We were able to achieve that through peace, much like the goals of the original White Fang, and we now operate as a black ops group alongside some of Atlas' Specialists to quell the scattered resistances left from the war."

Almost everyone stiffened after hearing that last word.

"War?" Summer quietly gasped.

"I thought you said it was done through peace?" Raven asked, her voice heavily laced with skepticism.

"Not a war between humans and faunus, but against the Queen and her Grimm," Weiss answered. "It was - "

Weiss was interrupted by a shadow that suddenly engulfed the room. The shadows quickly receded to one corner, where it pooled into an ovular shape and a woman stepped out. She was dressed entirely in black that looked more like a second layer of skin than clothes, almost like shadows, accentuating her killer body, and her black hair flowed down her back like silk.

"Hey, Robin, I've got another job - " The woman paused as her ivory-colored eyes scanned the room. She then uttered a curse under her breath. "Shit, wrong timeline. I blame you four." She pointed at the four time-travelers in the room, who all looked at the woman in confusion. "I'm going to kick Time's ass when I see him again, letting other people mess with his domain. Does he know how much more annoying he makes the job of my Reapers whenever he makes alternate timelines like this?"

Everyone glanced at one another, unsure of what to make of the strange yet absolutely gorgeous woman in the room.

The woman snapped her fingers and the shadows started to move again, gathering in a circle at her feet.

"Oh, just saying…" She pointed at Robin and Summer. "You two look _damn_ cute together. Maybe I should try setting Robin up with Snow in _that_ world."

Before anyone could make sense of what she said, the woman melted away into the shadows, leaving behind ten perplexed hunters.

"Well…that happened…" Robin muttered.

Future-Yang, on the other hand, slyly grinned at him. "Damn, Uncle Rob! You're damned lady-magnet, aren't you? And she was an absolute _bombshell_ at that!"

Summer looked at Robin with her pained eyes. "…Robin…?"

"I swear I have never met her before in my life!" Robin hastily said. "Morgan even said that we're together in the future, didn't she!"

"True true." Morgan shrugged. "But that didn't stop other women from longing after you. You just drew women to you without even trying or wanting to. Mom had to fight the others off more often than not, and lemme tell you, she can be absolutely terrifying when she's fighting over you."

"I can see that," Raven smirked. "You should've seen him at Beacon. The dense idiot didn't even know that he had like seven other girls vying for his attention. It's a wonder how he and Summer even got together."

Summer's face turned beet red as Robin did his best to defend himself from attracting other women in the future, causing everyone else to laugh at their expense.

 _ **. . .**_

The shadows rippled as Death stepped out of her portal. The moment the smell of coffee hit her nose, she knew that she traveled to the right timeline. The familiar interior of his lounge even confirmed it.

"Hey, Robin!"

"I'm not in!" he yelled from the second floor.

With a roll of her eyes, she willed herself into Robin's room. As the shadows peeled away from her form, she was hit in the face by something soft. That 'something' revealed itself to be a pillow as it fell to her feet with a _foof_.

"Robin."

"Go away."

The cafe owner was currently in his bed with his covers pulled over his body. His eyes, while looking very sleepy and tired, still managed to convey the feeling of annoyance and irritation, but that could easily be from being woken up at four in the morning.

"I've got a job."

"No."

"…Do you want to take it willingly or do you want me to force it on you?"

"It's not even going to be willingly because it's nothing more than an ultimatum," Robin glowered from beneath his sheets.

Death let out a sigh. "Don't make me get into the bed with you."

"Try it," he dared.

Robin realized his mistake the moment the words left his mouth. Before he could stop it, not that he could, Death climbed into the bed next to him with a grin that was most definitely not evil on her face. Then the grin dropped immediately and her eyes widened in wonder.

"It is…surprisingly comfortable in here…" Death said as she gently sank into the mattress.

She suddenly felt extremely drained and tired, as if the bed was sapping her strength by the second. It was no wonder that Robin didn't want to leave this comfortable heaven. She pulled the silken blanket tightly around her, not caring about the annoyed grunt that came from Robin as his arm was exposed to the air. That problem was solved when he snapped his fingers, causing a second blanket to drop down on him.

"Didn't you want me to go on some job?" Robin yawned.

"Mm…later…" Death lazily murmured. "Too comfy right now."

The last thing she heard was another annoyed grunt from Robin before she fell asleep right next to Robin.

And which was how they were found a few hours later by Snow, who was more than eager to take a photo of the two sleeping side-by-side.

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Had this chapter in the works for a while now. Almost right after starting this fic, in fact. It was originally intended to be a completely different fic entirely with Robin as a Beacon student during Team STRQ's era, but I was waaaaaay too lazy to think of original ideas for the plot and OC's to accompany it. So I put it on the back burner until I started writing Ch.7 of** _ **Shepherd**_ **, and I changed the original idea into this chapter.**

 **Another idea for this chapter was for Ruby and Morgan to be twin sisters, but once again, my laziness was like, _"_** _ ** _Scre_ w that, that's a lot of work to think ways to make it flow smoothly,"**_ **and Ruby becoming 'Morgan' due to a mishap in her application came into mind.**

 **But yeah, this is more of a celebratory chapter as this is the tenth chapter of** _ **A Shepherd's Rest**_ **, and also as a "thank you" to all of you. Every time I think that this story capped at the number of favorites/follows, all of you manage to prove me wrong.**

 **As for the questions that some of you may or may not have:  
\- Where's Qrow, you might ask? || Doesn't exist in this timeline for…reasons that I'm too lazy to think of. Robin is Qrow in this case.  
\- Why's Raven still with her team and family? || Because I wanted a happy story.  
\- Why's Raven a little OoC? || Because she never left and, in **_**Awakening**_ **, Robin's Supports with characters can change mindsets a little. Who's to say that living an entire life with Robin wouldn't change Raven's mentality, even if it's just enough so that she wouldn't leave her family? Also because I wanted a happy story.**


	11. Dealing With and Dishing Out Fears

**I dabbled in kendo some time back. As such, I've a couple of bamboo swords in my room.**

 **They have become my tool of destruction in killing these bugs that somehow enter my room.**

 **Said bug killing may or may not have inspired the beginning of this chapter. Also because it's one of my favorite Support conversations in _Fire Emblem: Awakening._**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

Fear can come in many ways, shapes, and forms.

The most common one, despite what many would believe, is the fear of the unknown. It is the source for most other fears that humans may or may not have. For it was this very fear that had many people afraid of the dark, especially as children. If one does not know what may be lurking in the shadows in which normal eyes are unable to see through, one's imagination would go wild, thinking that something of the supernatural lies in wait.

At the same time, by not knowing how one's neighbors would act, or by not knowing what was going on behind closed doors, one would be paranoid of their neighbors. This, in turn, is quite possibly the biggest fear of those of high status, whether it be in the military or politics, though the two of those tend to go hand in hand quite often.

Of course, this is not to say that the fear of the unknown is the root cause for _all_ fears. Irrational fears, or phobias, were called that simply because they were simply that. Irrational. Rarely would there be a logical conclusion for one to have a phobia, such as a traumatizing event that one experienced as a child.

And when faced with a phobia, one will react in a variety of manners. Some may become paralyzed in their fear, unable to take action as their body refuses to move. Others may violently lash out at those in their vicinity, all in the hopes that they may put some distance between them and the cause of their phobia. There are others that have a mental breakdown as their fears overload their brain are they become incapable of forming rational thoughts for a period of time.

The most common reaction, however, was simply to let the body respond with the voice. Or…to scream.

Which was exactly what happened in the dorm rooms of a certain first-year team at Beacon Academy.

 _ **. . .**_

When she first heard the scream, she planned on passing it off as her teammate's normal actions. It was a common thing to hear, after all, especially when her team leader would spend a good chunk of her time playing video games on either her scroll or on the game systems.

However, this scream was a bit different from the usual screams of surprise, anger, or joy that her team leader would let out from time to time. It had a bit more of a…primitive aspect to it, one that sent a trickle of worry down her spine.

Which was exactly why Weiss ran out of the shower that she just finished before hastily wrapping a towel around herself and bursting into her team's dorm room. A quick look around the room told her that there was no invader in their room, but that didn't change the fact that there was one Ruby Rose sitting in the corner of the room. Her pale skin was even paler than normal, and a wave of relief flooded the younger girl's body upon seeing Weiss.

"Ruby, what is going on?" Weiss hurriedly asked as she ran over to her friend. "Are you alright? What happened?"

"W-Weiss!" Ruby sobbed. The young girl threw her arms around Weiss, tightly latching on to the Schnee with as much strength as she could muster in her small body.

Weiss began to rub her hand in a circular motion between Ruby's shoulders, an action that surprised both of them. The Weiss of a month ago would have never done such a thing, much less allow hugs.

"Deep breaths, Ruby," Weiss gently said. "Take a moment to calm down and then tell me what happened."

There was a slight shift in the girl's head - a nod, Weiss realized - before Ruby deeply inhaled. After a few more seconds, Ruby muttered something into Weiss' bosom, which was muffled due to the girl's head being buried in Weiss' chest, and she most definitely not think that the minute vibrations felt ticklish.

"…ch…"

Weiss raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I didn't catch that, Ruby. You'll have to speak clearly if you want me to understand what it is you're saying."

Ruby looked up at her with tearful eyes. "A roach!"

"…" Weiss momentarily blanked out as the words registered in her head. "I-I'm sorry, but I think I might have heard you incorrectly. Did you say… _"roach"_? As in…a…bug?"

There was a frantic shaking of Ruby's head. "Not just a bug! A roach!" Ruby tried to clarify. "A freakishly, disgustingly-huge one with hairy legs and a gross movement and - and it's HORRIBLE!"

Fighting down the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose, Weiss pursed her lips and gently pushed Ruby off of her.

"You're telling me that your ear-piercing screams and your terrified actions just now…were over a cockroach?" She let out a sigh. "And here I thought something terrible had happened."

"It _is_ terrible!" Ruby argued, pointing her finger in some direction across the room. "Look at that thing!"

Weiss turned her head to look where Ruby was pointing and saw the 'thing', as Ruby had put it. It was on the wall just beside their doorway, and while it was definitely bigger than the average roach, it was not something that was worth screaming about; it was only just about the size of a Beacon ID if one were to cut it vertically down the middle.

"Really, Ruby?" Weiss looked back at her teammate with an eyebrow raised in an unimpressed manner. " _That's_ what got you all worked up? Honestly, I don't see what all the fuss was about - "

And then it happened.

There was a wet _crack_ , similar to the sound of an egg's shell breaking if the egg was ten times larger. The shell on the roach split down the center before it began to spread. The roach's body fluids seeped out from the cracks, creating a thin trail of clear liquid. A thin and firm film-like substance began to expand from beneath the open shells, and it jumped off the wall as it spread its _wings_.

" - IT CAN FLY?!"

And that it could.

Fresh screams escaped from the throats of Weiss and Ruby as the roach buzzed around the air. The girls scampered back to the corners of the room, wanting nothing to do with the flying monstrosity. It zipped a few inches away from their face more than a few times, almost as if it was mocking and teasing them on purpose.

Weiss swiped her hand at the fiendish insect, but she completely missed. The bug was too fast for her and she merely hit air, which only served to dramatically increase their already-high levels of panic.

"You see?! SEE?! It's the stuff of nightmares - EEK!" Ruby squeaked and grabbed Weiss as it flew a little too close. "Kill it kill it killit killitkillitkillit!"

"Oh no, I am not going anywhere NEAR that disgusting thing!" Weiss hotly said.

"WHAT?!" Ruby sputtered. "Just throw some Dust at it or something!"

"Do you _want_ to blow us and our room up?!"

"How do you plan on becoming a huntress if you can't even kill one, stupid little roach?!"

"This and that are two different things, Ruby, and that is nowhere near "little"! And what about you? Didn't you want to become "the greatest team leader ever"? How can you become one if you can't even lead yourself to kill a roach?!"

"What's there to lead?! Who needs leadership to kill a bug?! Besides, since I'm the leader, I order you to kill that bug!"

Weiss bit her lip. As much as she didn't want to do it, she _did_ make a promise that she would be the best teammate ever, and let none say that she was not a woman of her word.

"Very well. I suppose I must…" Weiss sighed. "I'll…I'll do something about it…"

Her slavedriver of a leader cheerfully threw up her arms.

"Yes! Thanks, Weiss! You're the best!"

Instead of answering, Weiss began looking around for anything that she could use as a weapon against the airborne demon. Only now did she realize that she and Ruby were in Blake's corner of the room.

Her brain made a list of things to use in a fraction of a second. The list was as follows: books, books, more books, a book that had a cover with three, left-facing warriors, a book with a cartoon-looking, sleeping knight, a book with three people lying down a field of grass, a book that had a teenage girl with red and white colored hair, and a book that had something to do with ninjas being in love with a shirtless man on the cover.

Absolutely shameless.

The revolting beast flew by once more and Weiss grabbed the nearest book. Later on, she would never admit that she let out a startled yelp that most definitely did not sound like a "Kya!", but that was neither here nor there.

Just as she was about to hurl the book in her hands with as much strength as she could, the door to their dorm room burst open and Yang, Pyrrha, and Blake all rushed inside.

"Ruby, Weiss!" "What's going on?!" "What happened - why are you holding my book?!"

Weiss froze like a deer in headlights as she stared at her friends. Then back at the flying roach. Then back at her friends. Then back at the bug.

Pyrrha must've noticed it as well, and Blake would've seen it too were it not for her focus being on the book in Weiss' hand.

"Honestly, you two…" In a picture-perfect look of absolute confidence and a calm state of mind, Pyrrha made her way across the room in three, long strides. In a flash, her arm snapped out and caught the roach in her bare hand and crushed it in her palm. "All that commotion over a silly insect? What were you thinking?"

At the very least, she and Ruby and the decency to look ashamed.

"We're sorry…" they replied in tandem.

Thankfully, Pyrrha didn't seem very angry. She turned to them with an angelic smile on her face and said, "Next time, you can come and call me over if you need a bug gone."

Weiss and Ruby nodded repeatedly, and with the smile still on her face, Pyrrha exited the room. Not a second later, she poked her head back in.

"Oh, one more thing," Pyrrha added, staring directly at Weiss. More specifically, at her body. "You might want to cover up a little more than that."

Weiss looked down and heat rushed to her face. It was only now that she realized that she was still wearing the towel from earlier, which did _very_ little to protect her modesty. At the very least, it hid the more important parts of her womanly anatomy.

Said towel immediately turned traitorous as it unraveled, most likely due to her excessive movements from earlier coupled with Ruby's hugs, and her entire body was laid bare.

She didn't think that it was humanly possible for her face to burn as much as it did at that moment.

Yang's wolf whistle definitely did not help her at all.

 _ **. . .**_

A blissful sigh was released as he placed his glass onto the countertop. The pale, green colored drink in front of him was down to half with just the one swig he took earlier, and he mentally berated himself for not savoring his drink. The times that he'd get a break from work were far and few in between, and so it wouldn't do for him to just down his drink just like that.

On second thought, screw savoring his drink. It was his last week of work before he'd leave that damned group, so to hell with worrying about when his next vacation would be. With his savings from living as a minimalist for the past decade, he wouldn't have to worry about his budget for a long time.

 _'Say what you will about the White Fang, but damn…'_ He took a sip of his drink. _'They paid anyone that isn't a grunt handsomely.'_

Sure, he wasn't _that_ high up in their chain of command, being nowhere close to the likes of Adam Taurus or one of the regional overseers, but he was still in charge of over half a dozen platoons of White Fang members, each one having their own captain.

So yes, while he wasn't one of their top ranks, he was nowhere near the bottom. And coupled with the odd jobs that he took every now and then when he had the time to spare, he was easily set for life.

Which is exactly why he was sitting down at a bar with an alcoholic drink in hand.

A man with white hair walked through the doors, inadvertently drawing attention to himself like the countless others that came before him. And as it normally went, almost every eye went back to whatever it was that they were originally looking at, but his eyes stayed on the man and narrowed slightly. Not out of suspicion or any other negative sort of emotion, but merely out of curiosity and a slight bit of confusion. And a bit of respect.

Anyone that could keep their cool while bound to a chair with no access to Aura deserved a small bit of respect. Even more so when the person in question could crack jokes at their interrogators and playing along while having the means to escape the entire time.

Speaking of which, he still had no idea how the bartender in front of him managed to escape the Aura binding chains and escape. While hilarious at the time, it did cause problems for him and his partner as the higher-ups weren't too pleased with how things unfolded.

 _'Oh well. It's not as if they could do anything about it,'_ he thought to himself as the white-haired man began making his way over to his table.

If the higher-ups wanted to expend more manpower in getting what little information that they _might_ be able to pry from the bartender, they were more than welcome to try.

Not that they'd succeed, of course. The man was not someone that was so easy to capture. Hell, he was sure that the man willingly _allowed_ him and his partner to bind him in the Aura chains for his own amusement. He was sure that, if the man wanted to, he could've easily taken him and his partner down without a second thought.

 _'You don't live long in the world if you can't gauge someone's strength upon a mere glance.'_

And just like how he didn't want to mess with Adam Taurus, he sure as hell did not want to mess with the man.

Or cafe owner. Whichever it was.

The familiar _clink_ of a cup getting placed onto a table broke Gator out of his reverie. Looking up, he saw the Robin pulling up the last seat in his table of four.

"A bit late there, aren't you?" he smirked.

Robin gave a small smile in response. "Got caught up in a little side job." He then looked at the two other people that were seated around the table, and Gator began the introductions.

"Going by how our names went last time… Hawk, Wolf, meet Robin. Robin, meet Hawk, Wolf," Gator said, motioning at the seated members. "Robin's the owner of Shepherd, Hawk and Wolf are my fellow…" He paused, looking around and changing his words to suit the environment. "…associates."

Hawk, a man with brown hair and sharp eyes, raised his glass as a greeting.

Wolf, on the other hand, had wild, grey hair that partially covered her right eye went down to her upper back, and flashed Robin a grin that was…well…wolfish. "Yo."

"Pleasure to meet you," Robin politely said.

"You the guy that Canis and Kain captured a while back, yeah?" Wolf asked Robin, who raised a slightly confused brow in response. Catching the look, she elaborated, "Ah, my bad. _Gator_ and _Ram_. Ha! Never gonna let him live that one down!"

"Ah." Robin nodded in understanding. "I was indeed the one that Gator and Ram apprehended a month ago, though our meeting was short-lived."

"Might I ask what happened?" Hawk asked in a gentle tone. "According to the reports, you were able to escape from Aura binding chains easily without breaking free of them. They were neither damaged nor unlocked, so I am very curious as to how you managed the feat."

Robin gave them a knowing smile. "A magician never reveals his secrets."

"Hmph. Friggin' smartass," Gator scoffed, but there was no malice in his voice.

"Got some secrets, huh? Can't say I'm not familiar," Wolf said. "None of us here, in fact."

"Deception is quite the useful tool when dealing with unknowns, especially in combat," Robin sagely said. He then glanced at the drink's in everyone's hands - a beer for Wolf, a glass of whiskey for Hawk, and a bright, green drink for Gator - and raised a curious brow at him. "I mean no offense, but I did not take you as the type to enjoy cocktails."

Gator raised a brow back at him. "Took me as a beer or whiskey guy?"

"More or less. You've quite the grizzled face. Were it not for your scales and eyes, I would have pegged you as a bear faunus."

Gator barked out a laugh while Wolf choked on her beer. The woman quickly set her glass down and struggled to down her drink and Hawk began to rub circles on her back.

"I've been told," Gator grinned. "Won't change the fact that whiskey and beer tastes like garbage."

"Heh, some would find your words to be heresy," Robin chuckled, glancing over at Hawk and Wolf respectively.

"As if I care 'bout what others think," Gator said. "Think about it logically; why the hell would I willingly drink somethin' that I think is nasty when I could get a drink that actually tastes good?" He raised the glass. "And comes with more drink per lien?"

"No arguments there," Robin said in agreement. "Life is much too short, so why not spend it doing what you love doing? Or in this case, drinking what you enjoy?"

"You some sorta philosopher now?" Gator huffed as he glanced over at Wolf. She was only just recovering from almost dying. "'Sides, I don't think you should really be one to talk 'bout life bein' short. You don't look nearly old enough to be talkin' that old person crap."

Robin raised an eyebrow in amusement, almost as if he knew something that he didn't. "Looks can be deceiving. I could very well have lived for over a millennium while retaining my youth."

"Friggin' smartass," Gator said again with a roll of his eyes. "Let's say you really are immortal. How'd you get to _become_ immortal in the first place?"

Without missing a beat and with the straightest face possible, Robin replied, "I took an odd job for some crazy woman who's essentially death itself, and she made me an immortal being that can't be permanently killed so that I could keep doing the shit jobs that she doesn't want to do."

For a full five seconds, all eyes were on Robin as he held a perfect poker face.

"Pfft."

A small burst of air escaped Wolf and Gator's lips before they could stop it, followed by another. Wolf quickly covered her mouth with a fist as a chuckle rose from Gator's chest. Not a second later, both of them threw their heads back in full-blown laughter.

Strange looks were thrown their way from the other patrons in the store, but none of them paid it no mind as they continued to laugh.

"You're a damn good jokester, y'know that? Almost believed you there for a second!" Gator grinned.

"Only for a second? Pity. I was hoping that I could push this for a day at the very least," Robin replied with a grin of his own.

Hawk, being the collected member of their group, calmly set his glass down as he peered at Robin with a small smile on his lips. "You have quite the talent there, Robin. If it is not talent, then I must applaud you on your accomplishment. Being able to weave a tall tale such as that, however short, while making it sound convincing is no small feat. It is even more impressive given the fact that you managed to pull a cloud over our eyes."

There was a slight nod from Robin. "Am I right in assuming that the three of you work in fields that lean more towards the non-combat side of things?"

"Your assumption lies true," Hawk confirmed. "Gator heads the… _information gathering_ team -" Gator simply shrugged at the slight wording change for 'Torture and Investigation'. " - alongside one of the main combative groups, while Wolf and I are in the scouting and tracking division."

Another nod. "While I do appreciate the information given, I cannot help but think that this is something that most people outside of your… _group_ are not exactly privy to."

"You're right about that. We're not exactly supposed to be some sorta open group," Wolf said with a wild grin. The grin then dropped immediately along with her voice, having turned into a menacing grow. "Now that you know, we're gonna have ta' kill ya."

It was an intimidation tactic, one that was utilized by the White Fang more often than not. While slight, some features on faunus, specifically the predatorial ones such as wolves and lions, could be used in the same manner as the original animals did. If used properly towards the right people and in the right situations, the victim of the intimidation tactic would succumb to their fear.

Not that it would work in this case. If Robin was such a weak-willed man, then Gator would not have had any problems when he and Kain had him chained to a chair.

Just as he expected, Robin grabbed his glass (Gator never knew when it arrived) and very casually took a sip. There wasn't the barest hint of trepidation, not the slightest whiff of fear, nor the tiniest tells of body language to show that he even _acknowledged_ the not-so-veiled threat in Wolf's words and tone.

It was a much longer wait than it should've been as Robin slowly set his glass back down. The tension wasn't exactly high, but since the focus of the table was on Robin and his reply, the noise of the entire bar sounded so far away to Gator.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, they received his awaited response.

"Sounds fun," he smiled. A smile that held no malice in it. A smile that was normally shared by two friends from an inside joke.

"Holy shit! This guy's a blast!" Wolf howled in laughter as she lightly punched Robin's arm. "No reaction at all!"

"I must say that I am surprised," Hawk admitted. "Not many people can sit still when under Wolf's threat, and far fewer can retain their composure. How did you know?"

Robin raised a brow. "Know what?"

"That Wolf wasn't goin' to follow up on her threat," Gator clarified. "Know that she was bluffin'."

The raised brow furrowed. "That was a bluff?" he asked incredulously.

Hawk fumbled with his glass while Wolf and Gator started laughing again.

"You had a contingency plan prepared?" Hawk asked, having quickly regained his composure.

"Should I not have?"

"Hell no!" Wolf laughed, hitting Robin's arm again. "One of the biggest rules in our crew is that infighting is a _big_ 'No'. _Especially_ during drinking nights! Like honor among thieves and all that, only we ain't exactly thieves."

There was a slow nod from Robin. "I see. That would've been nice to know earlier."

"It is not entirely a bad thing in itself," Hawk said. "We are, for all intents and purposes, strangers to you. Taking precautions against unknowns is something that keeps people alive."

"That being said, now I've gotta know…" Gator leaned forward a little. "What were you plannin' on doin' if Wolf actually followed up on her threat?"

Wolf's eyes widened by a fraction. "Oh shit, didn't think about that." She placed her chin in her palm as her elbow rested against the table's surface. "Now you've got _me_ curious."

"That's easy. I would've…" Robin slowly raised a hand and the White Fang members tensed. A sly grin formed on his face and his hand flicked over towards the bar's door. "…ran like hell."

There was a sudden _thud_ as Wolf's hand slipped, causing her head to slam against the table. Hawk slowly closed his eyes in exasperation, and Gator began laughing.

"Come on, three against one? I'm clearly outnumbered, and getting beaten down in a bar fight would be terrible for my image," Robin continued with a shit-eating smirk plastered on his face. "Now, if it was one-on-one, that's a different story."

Eyes turned to him again with a hint of a challenge in their eyes.

"Because then I'd have a chance at actually running away without getting caught," Robin finished.

Wolf's head hit the table again, this time on her own volition. "Gods damn it! Why did I take him seriously?!"

"Perhaps it is because he is more than capable of escaping without much trouble," Hawk reasonably said.

"It was a rhetorical question, birdbrain," Wolf said, throwing him a half-hearted glare.

"And I gave you a logical answer to it," Hawk replied without missing a beat.

"You don't reply to rhetorical questions! That's the entire point of it being _rhetorical_ \- "

Wolf was interrupted by three simultaneous beeping noises. The joviality that hung in the air was lost immediately and Gator pulled out a small pager from a hidden pocket.

"The hell?" Gator scowled. "All they had to do was make a presentation…"

"Work calls, I presume?" Robin asked.

"Got that right," Gator grumbled, pocketing the pager. "The day's almost done too."

Robin gave him an understanding nod. "A feeling I know all too well. Best of luck to you three."

"Hopefully, luck will be something that we won't even want this time around," Wolf said with a sigh.

"One of our warehouses was broken into," Hawk reminded her. "I'd say that we want as much luck as possible in face of the incoming paperwork that we will no doubt have to deal with."

"Ugghh…don't remind me…" Wolf groaned, downing the last of her drink. When she was done, she gave Robin a fanged smile. "It was fun, Robin. Let's meet up again, yeah?"

With that, the three White Fang members left the bar, leaving Robin alone at the table. Just as the bar door closed behind them, the realization struck Robin like a colossal Risen's punch.

"They left me with the bill…"

 _ **. . .**_

Not ten minutes later, Robin was walking down the streets in the direction of his house. Even though it was late into the night, the streets were relatively filled with people walking around. Most were in groups of three to five while a few could be seen in pairs.

As he walked, he caught murmurs of a rampaging Atlas robot being thrown around, and the White Fang were involved.

 _'I_ _do hope_ _they aren't_ too _heavily involved,'_ Robin thought to himself. _'_ _They were pleasant enough, even if our time was short-lived.'_

He walked by a food stall that was still open. The aromatic smell seemed to invite him to take a seat, and given how he didn't have a chance to eat before meeting with Gator and his friends, Robin decided to listen to his stomach.

Pushing the curtain aside, the food stall turned out to be a noodle shop run by a single, aged man. He wasn't the only one that was in the store, evident by the two of the four seats being occupied.

"Ah, welcome to A Simple Wok!" the old man brightly grinned. "What can I get for you?"

"Mm…" Robin eyed the menu on the wall as he took the rightmost seat at the countertop table. Having decided on what to get, he pulled out the appropriate amount of lien and placed it on the counter. "…I'll have the Shrimp Tempura Udon with a cup of water, please."

"Coming right up!" the old man beamed, taking the payment.

Robin let his body relax as the sounds from the old man working became background noise to his ears. His eyes weren't focused on anything in particular, but he was still able to see the old man's movements as he prepared the food. Not a single movement wasted, every motion connected to the previous one, and eyes that seemed to be everywhere at once - telltale signs of someone who's been doing his job for many, many years.

He was abruptly broken out from his musings by one of the two other occupants letting out a tired sigh. Both of them were teenagers, one with short, golden hair with an unbuttoned white shirt and a monkey's tail, and the other had a rooster head of a pastel blue.

"They'll be fine, right?" the rooster head asked.

The monkey faunus didn't reply as he chewed the food in his mouth. Once he swallowed, he casually shrugged. "Probably."

Robin's eyes quickly looked over their profile, taking in their features and the two weapons that were leaning against the counter. One was a red bo staff with golden accents while the other was some sort of folded glaive. He figured that there was some connection between the faunus and a legendary figure from a different world, but given that it was from a different _world_ , he decided to not voice his thoughts.

He looked up and caught the eye of the rooster head teen, who raised an eyebrow in response.

"Students?" Robin asked the two.

Roosterhead looked a little surprised at the fact Robin talked to him, resulting in him taking an extra second to reply. "Y-Yeah."

Robin gave him a slow nod. "Not from Beacon, I presume?"

"Nah. We're from Haven, here to participate in the tournament," the blonde faunus answered with a confident smile. "You?"

"I'm no student," he replied with a small shake of his head. "So…no. I will not be participating, though I am looking forward to watching it."

"Are you going to be cheering for your sister?" Roosterhead asked.

Robin's brow furrowed in confusion. "Sister?"

"Yeah - wait…" Roosterhead's eyes slowly widened as a look of horror flicked across his features. "You're…not a Schnee…are you?"

It took a second for the words to click. When it did, Monkey brought a hand over his face while Robin began to laugh, all the while Roosterhead held his head in his hands in embarrassment.

"No, I am not a Schnee," Robin said as he controlled his laughter. "The only characteristics that I share with them would be the hair color, but even then, theirs has a slightly bluer hue to it. Mine is more of a flat white, and no, I'm not talking about the drink."

"I'm so sorry," Rooster apologized, still holding his head.

"No harm done," Robin lightly said with a wave of his hand. "It is quite understandable as white hair is uncommon in those in their younger years. Though I must ask: what brought that up?"

"The nerd here has a pretty big crush on the Weiss Schnee," Monkey said, gesturing to his friend.

Rooster raised his head to look at Monkey. "I am an _intellectual_ , not a nerd."

In return, Monkey rolled his eyes. "Same thing."

"No, it's not," Rooster indignantly said before looking over at Robin for confirmation. "Right?"

"They, for the most part, do mean the same thing," Robin said with a slight shrug of his shoulders. "The only difference would be the fact that one tends to be said in a more derogatory manner."

At this, Monkey tossed a smug grin over at Rooster.

"If one goes into technicalities, however, the two words do mean different things," Robin continued. "One can mean 'fool' while the other can mean 'genius'."

"Ha! See? They _aren't_ the same thing!" Rooster said.

"Same difference!" Monkey huffed in response.

A small smile formed on Robin's face as he watched the two go back and forth. His eyes then moved across their clothes, taking note of the slightly battered looks and the occasional scuff mark that dirtied them. He remembered the few rumors that he caught on the way here, and a question formed in his mind.

"Your Shrimp Temura Udon!"

He was interrupted when a steaming bowl of udon was placed in front of Robin. He blinked as he turned to the shopkeep, having forgotten that he ordered food earlier. With a smile, he thanked the old man and picked up his chopsticks.

"By the way…" he started, grabbing Rooster and Monkey's attention. "The two of you wouldn't know anything about one of Atlas' pilotable mechs that was causing a ruckus earlier, would you?"

The two shared a glance with each other before turning back to Robin. Their hesitance to reply served as an answer.

"Were there four girls also involved? Specifically, the four members of Team RWBY from Beacon?" Robin continued.

"Yeah… How did you know?" Rooster asked.

Robin let out a small sigh. "Lucky guess. Those girls seem to be quite involved in many things."

"Really?" Monkey raised a brow. "Like what?"

"Ruby Rose was involved in a robbery before the school term even started and fought off Roman Torchwick, the entire team then somehow blows up a restaurant not two weeks later, and fought off Torchwick and a large number of White Fang members at the docks not too long ago," Robin counted off on his fingers.

"Oh hey! I was part of that last one!" Monkey grinned.

"I see." Robin nodded as he recalled the reports of the dock fight. "So _you're_ the student from Haven that was mentioned in the reports."

Monkey's smile faltered as he swallowed the last of his food. "You're a…a cop?"

An idea popped into Robin's head. It was an idea that he really should not have acted on. It was an idea that was neither 'smart' nor 'life-changing', though one may argue that it was 'clever'. It was nothing more than him just being what one would call an "asshole", but he was presented with such an opportune moment to be " _that_ guy".

"Not exactly," he replied with a small smirk.

In his many years of living, both before and after his initial death, Robin learned that, sometimes, a vague answer can do _so_ much. It plays into people's imaginations and fears, making them overthink situations and often making them scare themselves.

In this certain scenario, it simply started because Robin mentioned that he saw the blonde faunus mentioned in the reports. It wasn't a police report or anything of the sort since he was covering for Glynda at the time, but that was precisely why the vague answer worked so well in this situation.

Monkey had no idea if Robin was actually a police officer or not. All he knew in this instance was that there was a 'report', and in his suspicion and fear, cornered himself by asking if Robin was a cop. If it was not for that question, there would never have been an opportunity. Unfortunately for him, that opportunity was capitalized upon by Robin's reply.

"Ah."

Monkey nodded and both he and Rooster slowly rose to their feet. Without another word, they bolted from the stall with their weapons in their hands, leaving Robin alone in the stall.

Satisfied with his results, Robin chuckled to himself as he turned back to his meal. The noodles had gotten a little soggy, having soaked up a little too much of the broth, but it was still hot and enjoyable.

On the other side of the counter, the old man asked him, "You're not really a cop, are you?"

"Nope," Robin smiled. "I'm just the owner of a small cafe."

The old man gave him a crinkled smile before returning to his work. "It's a beautiful night, you know," he said.

Robin nodded in agreement. "That it is."

"You are a spritely young man. Pardon an old man's words, but you should be spending your time with those close to you instead of being alone."

 _'If only you actually knew how long I've been alive for,'_ Robin said in his mind.

"Of course, your eyes are a different story," the shopkeep continued. "You are not as young as you look, are you?"

Robin raised an eyebrow in response, neither confirming nor denying his words. He knew that wisdom often comes with age, so he was quite curious as to where the old man was going with this.

Seeing his look, the old man chuckled and said, "Wayfaring souls tend to find comfort in other souls like theirs."

Robin's eyes widened by a fraction. His curiosity grew and nipped the back of his mind, but he remained silent in the chance that the shopkeep would elaborate further. Unfortunately, the old man simply shook his head and didn't say anything else.

 _'Perhaps the old man has a Semblance that delves into some form of clairvoyance.'_

He never had the chance to expand upon that thought as a loud voice came from just outside the store.

"A noodle house! Yes!"

The perpetrator turned out to be a woman in a blue kimono with red accents, and pink hair that was styled into a sun-shaped bun. She joyfully took a seat next to Robin and threw up a hand.

"Old man! A bowl of udon and some dango if you have!" the woman cheerfully ordered.

The old man smiled and nodded to confirm her order. However, before he could even start preparing her food, the woman let out a sharp gasp that almost sounded heartbroken as her hands grasped at the air by her hips. Her movements grew more frantic as both her hands began to pat down her hips and thighs before she dejectedly lowered her head.

"Sorry, old man," the woman sheepishly said. "Turns out I lost my wallet."

The shopkeep gave her an understanding nod. "Ah, I see. That - "

" - won't be any problem. I'll pay for her meal," Robin cut in with a smile, and the old man nodded again.

Not having expected her meal to be paid for, the woman turned her head to look at Robin. Upon seeing his face, her eyes widened in recognition and she jabbed a finger in his face.

"Y-You!" she sputtered.

"Me," Robin smiled. "I did not expect to see you here of all places, but it's a pleasant surprise to see you again."

The woman gleefully threw an arm around his shoulders with a bright grin on her face. "Seriously! The last time I saw you was half a year ago during New Years! What have you been doing? How'd you end up in this wor - in this _land_ in the first place? Are you still on that contract you told me about?"

"I've opened up a coffee shop in this city, and yes, I'm still on that contract. It's also why I'm here, and I'll be here for some time longer until I get another long-term job," Robin answered politely. "Did you arrive here recently?"

She happily hummed and nodded, signifying a "Yes" as her answer. "The weird travel thing saved me again, only this time, it wasn't some cheating Yagyu-whatsit after my head."

"Oh? Then who, or what, was it this time?" Robin asked. "You're no slouch with the sword, so I'm quite curious how you almost died again."

"You make it sound like I'm almost dying a lot," the woman grumbled. Her playful demeanor returned not a second later and a spark of excitement appeared in her eyes. "Listen listen! So I was fighting a bunch of oni, right? I swear I was born in the wrong era because the oni that I fought were so beautiful! Anyway…"

As the woman animatedly talked about the recent events in her life and Robin listened, he recalled the old man's words from earlier, and he found himself in agreement.

It truly was a beautiful night to spend alongside another wayfaring soul.

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **I tried sounding wise. Pretty sure I completely failed in that regard.**

 **Original idea for this chapter was to have Robin involved in the RWBY vs AtlasMech!Torchwick fight. It was also going to take place in the street right outside of Robin's store, which would've prompted the lines:**

 _"Torchwick, what the hell are you doing in that thing?"  
"Robin?! What are you doing here?"  
"I _live _here..."_

 **Then they [RWBY, Torchwick, Neo, and Robin] end up inside Shepherd for a really awkward moment of all of them sitting at the same table.**

 **But, alas, that was not what happened, which also resulted in a lack of the original cast being present in this chapter. On the other hand, it was a prime opportunity to bring back Gator from a few chapters ago, seeing how he's in the White Fang and all. Not to stroke my own ego, but I think it segmented quite well into the last couple of scenes with Sun and Neptune.**

 **Speaking of Neptune, I was trying so hard to not make a Rooster Teeth pun with Robin's name for Neptune, 'Rooster'.**

 **As usual, thank you all for the reads, favorites, follows, and reviews.**

 **. . .**

 **On a completely different note, you know that MHA idea I had back in the A.N. of Chapter 9? Yeah, I ended up _not_ doing that but instead went with the other thing mentioned, which was to adopt the _'Half Hot Half Cold'_ story. If any of you are interested in a story about a f!Izuku-that-also-happens-to-be-Shouto's-twin, feel free to check it out. (Just saying, I've no idea on how to go about that story since I'm stupid enough to start another fic without putting much thought into it. I'm gonna be winging it just like _A Shepherd's Rest_ and _Plegia's Strategist_ )**

 **Did I just self-promote my own story?  
...Yup. I have no shame. Ha. Ha. Ha (deadpan laugh).**


	12. The Divergence

**Halo: Reach has been released on the Master Chief Collection. Dark Souls Remastered came out last year. It's like I'm reliving my life from ten years ago.**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

The faucet handle turned and water stopped pouring into the sink. A dry cloth was grabbed and Robin reached for the first of many cleaned cups and began to wipe it down. As he picked up the third cup, a gentle chime rang across the store as the door to A Shepherd's Rest opened and three people stepped inside.

"Slow day, Robin?" one of them asked.

Robin didn't look up as he continued to dry the cups. "A good portion of my patrons are your students, Four-Eyes. Students that are either panicking or eagerly awaiting tonight's dance that's been the talk of the town," Robin said, picking up a fourth cup. "Besides, if it was always busy here, then I'd end up working myself to death. That or I'd have to hire some people to help out around the store."

The polite people-smile never faded from Ozpin's face as he simply nodded to Robin's words. As the headmaster took a seat by the counter, Robin glanced over his shoulder and spotted the familiar visage of a certain general.

"Afternoon, Mister Sternface," Robin greeted.

James Ironwood's eyes narrowed by a fraction upon hearing the nickname.

"I never did get the reason as to why you call me that," James said.

"That's because I never told you, though I assure you that the reason for doing so is a lot simpler than you might think," Robin casually returned. "Did you find your lost toy?"

The already-narrowed eyes narrowed even further. "Yes. I did."

Robin raised his hands in mock surrender. "Don't blame me that it was out there in the middle of the street. I'm not physically capable of lugging a giant, pilotable robot that most likely weighs a few tons to a safe area, nor was it my responsibility."

"He's…not wrong…" a woman said from James' right.

"He's not. However, that does not mean I have to like it," James glowered.

"Lighten up a bit, would you? And Winter, thank you for taking my side," Robin said, smiling at the white-haired woman.

The eldest daughter of the Schnee family returned the smile. "It is good to finally see you again, Mentor."

Robin's face scrunched up as if he bit into something sour. "Please stop calling me that. Never took you on a student, and I never did anything mentor-like. All I did was inadvertently train a bunch of Specialists since they kept trying to beat me after that initial…fiasco." Pulling out two menus from underneath the counter, he asked them, "Anything to drink?"

"Cappuccino, three teaspoons of sugar, and a little bit of cinnamon, please," Winter immediately ordered, not even looking at the menu.

James, on the other hand, took a moment to look over the menu. His eyes roamed its surface until finally stopping near the bottom of the page.

"A cup of Baron's Eight with a drop of cream," the general ordered, handing the menu back to Robin.

With a single nod, Robin tossed the menus back under the counter and began preparing the drinks. A scoop of Baron's Eight beans went into the grinder as a filter was placed onto a plastic cone just as a sudden _thud_ came from the floor above them.

"What was that?" Winter asked, her eyes glancing at the ceiling.

"A guest. Not entirely a morning person," was Robin's casual reply. He then casually dumped the ground beans into the filtered cone and set a cup underneath it. "So, James. Those are some nice ships you brought in. Very fancy-looking. If I didn't know any better, I'd say there was something else going on beneath the events of the ball and the Vytal Festival."

At this, Ozpin sent James a smug look that said, _"I told you so."_

James let out a tired sigh. "My ships are here to show the civilians and the city that they are safe during such a large-scale event. My men can be deployed anywhere and at anytime."

Milk was poured into a pitcher. Turning a knob on the espresso machine in front of him, Robin began to steam and foam the milk for Winter's cappuccino, all the while keeping a close eye on James's coffee.

"And for what reason would your men need to be deployed?" Robin asked. "Surely nothing truly threatening lurks in the shadows - nothing more than the common thief that the VPD can't take care of."

Another look was shared between James and Ozpin, only this one lasted longer than the smug, non-verbal one-liner from earlier.

"…As you say, Robin, there is nothing that the VPD cannot take care of. My ships are here to simply send a message to the people, to tell them that they are safe and at peace."

"A message to the people?" Robin skeptically asked. He turned the knob the other way to stop foaming the milk and wiped down the steamer wand. "Or to discourage the curious."

James let out a heavy sigh as Ozpin gave him another smug " _I told you so"_ look as Robin poured the foamed milk over the espresso.

"I admit that it is both, though mostly the former," James said with another sigh. "You can never be too careful during large events, especially when the White Fang has been growing bolder with each passing day."

"Point." Robin shrugged and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon.

As he handed the finished cappuccino out, Winter's eyes practically sparkled even though she held a brilliant poker face.

"It's just like Weiss said," Winter wistfully smiled after her first sip. "This can match Klein's."

"Klein?" Robin curiously asked as he prepared a cup of tea.

"My - that is, _Weiss_ ' personal butler," Winter clarified. "He was the one that first introduced me to coffee years ago, and I will admit that I pestered him for _months_ before he finally gave in. Through me, Weiss would get her first cup, and she eventually grew a strong liking for Klein's drinks." A light laugh escaped her lips. "She would always go on about how all the other cappuccinos that she had never even compared to his."

"I see. It pleases me to hear that my craft can match such high standards," Robin replied. Turning his head back to James, he continued, "Back to what I was saying - there are more subtle ways to pass along the message, but then again, what do I know? I'm just the owner of a small-time coffee shop."

"Who so happened to infiltrate the sanctioned Dark Zone to kill an Elder Grimm and alter the landscape so greatly that one of Remnant's oldest mountains are no more," Ozpin offhandedly added. Cheeky bastard.

"I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about, Four-Eyes," Robin casually said without missing a beat and handing James his coffee.

"Talking 'bout whah?" a new voice suddenly asked.

Everyone except for Robin turned as a pink-haired woman in a cream-colored sweater walked out of the door behind the counter. With a mighty yawn, she plopped down into a chair right next to Robin and yawned again, resting her elbows on the counter.

Without saying a word, Robin placed the tea that he had been preparing next to her arm.

"It's not ready yet," Robin told her as he placed a cup down by the kettle. "Give it another minute and it'll be ready."

The woman mumbled a response that didn't get past her lips and Robin turned to face Beacon's headmaster.

"If memory serves, the infamous Dark Zone is on the other side of the world, far from Vale. I already told James that I have no recollection of leaving my house on that day you called me, so do tell me: how is it possible for me to have gone to the other side of the world and back within a day?"

"That is something that is still under investigation," James said. He took a sip of his coffee and his expression softened by a fraction - a silent praise to the quality of the brew.

Winter's eyes suddenly widened. "I see! So _you're_ the one that was in the security footage! As expected of my mentor."

"I repeat: I have absolutely no idea what you are talking about," Robin said again.

"Mm…that sounded like fun," the woman mumbled, raising her head and pouring herself a cup of tea. "Robin, why din' you invite me?"

"This happened some time ago, and you only arrived yesterday," Robin replied and turning to Ozpin, he continued, "Oh and before I get." He raised his hand and a cup materialized in his palm. "This is for you, Ozpin. As _promised_ , your coffee."

The only sign caution from the headmaster was the split-second hesitation he had before grabbing the cup. Nevertheless, he grabbed the ceramic. And just stared at it.

"It's coffee, Ozpin," Robin bluntly said. "Drink."

"Stale coffee," Ozpin noted. "There's no aroma and it just _looks_ flat."

"Drink. I'm letting you off easy by only having you drink one instead of the promised three, so drink."

"Robin, I - "

"Drink."

"Surely there's an alternative - "

" _Drink_."

With a trembling hand and an audible gulp, the headmaster slowly brought the cup to his lips. It was then lowered as Ozpin desperately tried to plead mercy, but Robin's hand snapped out to land on the bottom of the cup, preventing him from lowering the cup.

"It's _coffee_ , Oz. Your _favorite_ ," Robin slowly said.

From the sidelines, James and Winter only watched as Robin tipped the cup back onto Ozpin's lips. The headmaster had one of two choices, the first being to keep his mouth shut and let the coffee spill onto his clothes. The second option was to just drink the stale coffee, which was also what Ozpin picked. He had no doubt that had he picked the first option, there'd be more cups of stale coffee waiting for him.

"Good, _good_ ," Robin coaxed as he continued to tilt the cup back. "Make sure to drink it all. It'd be a waste to throw it out, would it not?"

For the first time in many years, Professor Ozpin, the renowned headmaster of Beacon Academy, shed a tear.

 _ **. . .**_

The sun had long set since the start of the dance, and yet the energy in the ballroom was as high as ever. It started off slowly with an air of awkwardness as only a handful of students were familiar with formal parties, but after a soothing piano solo that brought only the bravest students onto the onyx dance floor, things kicked off from there.

After the piano solo, the music in the room became more upbeat and festive, which only added to the students' liveliness.

Then a certain boy walked onto the floor in a flowing white dress. He immediately became the center of attention, and while there were many that laughed at him, he took it all in stride as he made it into a joke in an effort to keep spirits high.

"Oh. My. _God_." Yang's voice was a mixture of wheezing and laughing. "I can't believe you actually did it!"

While she was doubled over in hysterics, Ruby, Pyrrha, Nora, and Ren did their best to hold back their laughter for Jaune's sake. Weiss and Blake were a lot more controlled, though Blade _did_ look amused while Weiss just looked appalled.

"I'm an Arc, and an Arc never goes back on his word. It feels a little tight in a few areas though," Jaune replied, fiddling with his shoulder straps. " I guess the measurements were a little off."

"Well, duh," Nora lightheartedly scoffed as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You've been training like crazy, so of course the measurements from a couple of weeks ago wouldn't fit you!"

A gentle smile rose onto Pyrrha's face. "Well, I think you look amazing in that, Jaune."

Jaune's face brightened from her words. "Thanks, Pyr."

"And I must agree with Miss Nikos. I did not expect you to arrive in a wedding gown of all things, Mister Arc. Is there something that I missed?"

Heads turned to the familiar voice. There was only a handful of people that would refer to the members of the teams RWBY and JNPR in such a polite and formal manner. And in that small handful, there was only one person who had a smooth voice.

"Nothing much," Pyrrha replied. "Although I have to admit: I wasn't expecting to see you here, Mister Reflet Alius?"

The cafe owner a mischievous smile. He was dressed in a suit that matched the color palette of A Shepherd's Rest - a dark purple jacket and pants with a silvery-grey shirt underneath. In fact, it looked as if he came wearing his work uniform with a jacket thrown on top, albeit a little fancier and more expensive.

"Reflet Alius?" he slowly repeated, as if the name was foreign to him. "I'm afraid I don't know what it is that you are talking about, Miss Nikos. Surely you must have me mistaken with somebody else, for I am merely the owner of a cafe."

"Oh, please." "As if."

Weiss and Blake immediately scoffed and rolled their eyes in unison while Robin turned his attention to Jaune.

"If I may ask, what made you pick such an outfit?" Robin curiously asked.

"Dance contest," Yang answered. "Jaunie here said that he was a better dancer than me. We made a met, our teams voted, and he _lost_!"

"It was a narrow victory," Ren added to defend Jaune. "The votes were three and three, and Zwei was the one that broke the tie."

"A win's a win," Yang grinned.

Robin slowly nodded as he looked at Jaune's dress. "Well, I can say for certain that you, Mister Arc, look simply…" He took a moment to lower his voice in a husky tone. "… _ravishing._ "

Yang wolf-whistled as the other girls' cheeks turned red from the clear implication behind Robin's words and tone. Jaune, on the other hand, blanched.

"Ah - I uhh… That is…" Jaune stammered.

"I jest, Mister Arc," Robin cheekily grinned.

"Didn't you say that you already had a woman in your life?" Yang asked with a sly smile.

"That I did. That does not mean that I cannot say the things that are some people's minds, no?" Robin said. He then subtly glanced at Pyrrha, who immediately averted her gaze. "In any case, how are you all faring tonight?" he asked.

"We're doing well," Pyrrha quickly replied, who looked happy at the change in topic. "I must say that I wasn't expecting you to make an appearance. No offense, of course."

"None taken," was Robin's reply. "I wasn't going to attend at first, given how I am neither a student nor a staff member, but then Professor Goodwitch sent me an invitation, to which I figured it would be rude if I rejected it. She said that no one would question my presence as I was a substitute teacher for a short time."

"A short time but making yourself a big deal within those two days," Yang grumbled. "Did you know that Goodwitch upped the intensity of her classes thanks to you?! I thought that her classes before was hard, but now they're just borderline sadistic! It's torture!"

Robin raised an amused brow at her. "Is that not a good thing? You _are_ training to be huntsmen and huntresses. The more you struggle and sweat during training, the less blood you'll spill out in the field."

"I mean…if you put it that way…" Yang mumbled, struggling to find a way to refute his words. "E-Even so! That doesn't mean that I have to like it!"

"Oh? Is a mere training exercise too much for the fearsome Yang Xiao Long?" Robin teasingly grinned. "Perhaps I should ask Professor Goodwitch to make her classes easier, not that I think she'd actually do it. Would that please you?"

"Of course not!" Yang yelled as she jabbed a finger into his chest. "Just you watch! I'll tackle every single thing that you and that witch of a teacher throws at me!"

Having said her piece, she turned on her heel and walked away from the group, leaving behind a chuckling Robin.

"You're quite the motivator," Pyrrha noted, staring at Yang's retreating back.

"Motivating is just a very fancy and nice way of saying manipulating," Robin offhandedly said. "They're more or less the same thing. It's all a matter of perspective."

"And Yang isn't really that hard to…motivate," Blake mused from the side.

"I…guess that makes sense?" Ruby said-slash-asked.

Ren raised a brow at Robin. "Then which are you? A manipulator or motivator?"

Instead of giving him a straight answer, Robin simply smiled in response. "On a different note…" He gave them all a look over. "…What are you all doing here when you could be elsewhere? This _is_ a dance, after all."

A few of the teams' members shifted uncomfortably on their feet.

"I…don't really know how to dance…" Jaune muttered, contradicting Yang's earlier statement about their dance contest.

At this, Pyrrha playfully rolled her eyes. "Oh, Jaune. What do you think we've been doing the past week?" She grabbed his hand and started walking towards the dance floor. "Come on, you'll be fine! It'll be just like how we practiced."

As the two not-dating-but-totally-are-dating couple made their way to the floor, Nora suddenly grabbed Ren's shoulders and began to shake him.

"It's happening! It's finally happening!" Nora half-yelled, half-whispered. "Let's go and watch them! I need to see this up close!"

With that, the second not-dating-but-totally-are-dating couple made their way to the ballroom's center.

Keeping his amused grin on his face, Robin turned to face the remaining three members of Team RWBY. Rather… _two_ members, seeing how Blake mysteriously vanished within the past few seconds. Most likely in order to avoid dancing.

"And what of you two?" Robin asked Ruby and Weiss. "Will you not take part in the festivities?"

Ruby wouldn't meet his gaze. "Uhh…I-I… Oh! Would you look at that!" She raised the cup that was in her hand. "I'm out of punch! I think I'm just gonna go and get some more. Yeah. That."

"Of course," Robin chuckled, and Ruby scampered off with her not-empty cup of punch. "And what of you, Weiss? I thought that you would have a number of dance partners lined up. Or are you taking a break at the moment?"

"Hmph. As if I'd be tired an hour into a dance," Weiss scoffed, crossing her arms. "I'm only standing here because I have no suitable partner."

 _'Or is it because your glare scared everyone away, I wonder?'_ Robin mused.

Extending his arm with a smile, he said, "Well, that's something that can be easily remedied. Might I have this dance, milady?"

Weiss raised a skeptical eyebrow. "You're not a student."

"An astute observation," Robin sarcastically said without any bite in his tone. "However, I do not think one must be a student in order to partake in tonight's events. After all, all of the faculty members are enjoying themselves as well, are they not?"

A quick look around the room proved his statement right. Every professor (plus doctor) was present in the room, either standing off to the side or dancing.

"You know how to dance?" she asked.

"I may have dabbled in it a little," Robin replied.

"I'm sure," Weiss deadpanned, rolling her eyes. Nevertheless, she took the offered hand and they walked towards the center of the floor. "You seem to be knowledgeable in many things," she added.

"I'd like to think that I've lived a full life," Robin said. "I also had a number of teachers in a large variety of subjects. Dancing and playing the piano are two such examples."

"Piano?" Weiss asked before her eyes slowly widened. "Wait, was that piano solo earlier from you?"

Robin smiled again as their bodies began to sway to the music's tempo. "It seems that I've been found out."

"I should have expected as much. You have a piano in your lounge, after all," she sighed. "Were you self-taught or did you take - wait, never mind. You just said you had a teacher."

"Indeed, though…" A wry grin formed on Robin's lips. "…I had a _very_ harsh teacher. She had this parasol that she carried around everywhere, and she was _not_ afraid to use to as a disciplinary tool. If my posture wasn't perfectly straight, I'd earn myself a sharp hit from that parasol of hers. If my fingers weren't raised properly while playing, she'd hit my fingers."

And he wasn't lying. He vividly remembered his countless lessons with Maribelle on dancing, etiquette, and how to play the piano. She wouldn't have been his first choice as a teacher for the subjects, but at the time, the only people that he knew were Lissa, Frederick, and Maribelle. Lissa rarely took things seriously and Frederick was… _overbearing_ , to say the least, so the only person left was Maribelle.

 _"A nobleman must always carry himself with grace!"_ he remembered her saying. _"This means that you must keep your back straight and your chin high! And for Naga's sake, fix that shoulder slouch of yours! Honestly, you'll be making a fool of yourself if you were to present yourself beside the exalt!" Maribelle huffed and waved her pink parasol in his face. "Granted, you aren't a noble, but you are Chrom's right-hand man nonetheless!"_

It was only years later that Robin and the rest of the Shepherds would find out that he, in fact, _was_ a noble. The heir prince to Plegia, no less, giving him the same standing as Chrom.

It was also around this time that Maribelle began to teach him how to play an instrument.

 _"Every noble must know how to play at least one instrument. You'd be the laughing stock of the room otherwise," she started. "Normally, I would have preferred to teach you the violin. I've a feeling that it would suit you perfectly, and I have never been wrong about those feelings. Just look at Lissa and her flute! Absolutely wonderful, she is, and - " She suddenly cleared her throat. "Pardon me, I got a little carried away. As I was saying, the violin would suit you perfectly, but seeing how my brute of a son already knows, I will have to teach you another."_

 _"Why not the cello?" Robin asked. "It's basically a giant violin that you play while sitting down - "_

 _*WHAP* Maribelle's parasol made itself known to Robin's head again. It was almost a familiar feeling at that point in time._

 _"OW!" Robin yelped, rubbing the sore spot. "What was that for?!"_

 _"A cello and violin are NOT one and the same! How dare you insinuate - " Maribelle paused, took in a deep breath to calm herself, and pat down her devastating tool of destruction. "There are countless intricacies in both of those instruments, and it will take far too much time to list them all. That being said…" She pointed the fearsome weapon at him. "…a cello isn't a bad choice. However, if you are going to be playing an instrument that requires you to be sitting down, then I have something in mind."_

And that was how Robin found himself in front of a grand piano not two days later with a sympathetic Brady nearby. He still learned how to play the giant, sitting-down version of the violin anyway.

Weiss hummed as music began to speed up ever so slightly. "Of all the choices out there, your teacher chose a parasol?"

"It'd be wise to not underestimate what she could do with it," Robin chuckled. "A tool in the hands of a master can be a _very_ efficient one. I feared that pink monstrosity of hers more than I feared most other weapons that I happened across."

Even more than Falchion, and that was quite literally the bane of his existence. It didn't help that Lissa and Miriel decided to gift Maribelle a new parasol that could cast spells just as easily as a tome was able to.

"I see. Since you've apparently _"lived a full life"_ , is there anything that you _can't_ do?" Weiss asked.

"Quite a number of things, actually. It'd be faster to count the things that I can do rather than what I cannot do," Robin said.

"Humor me."

"As you wish." He spun her around before speaking. "I cannot play any woodwind instrument despite numerous attempts, my cooking skills are mediocre at best, I never learned how to drive, and I am rather prone to blowing myself up with Dust, which is why I tend to not use it."

Weiss raised a brow she was pulled close to him. "You don't know how to drive?"

"If put into the seat, I'm sure that I'll be able to steer the vehicle well enough so that we don't crash and burn, but other than that, I'm afraid that I've never tried."

"Then how do you get around from place to place?" she asked.

"I'm rather fond of walking, if I'm to be honest," he shrugged. Or would have, were it not for the current position that he was in. It was quite difficult to shrug while holding someone's hands in a dance. "Besides, there are other methods of traveling far distances. Like flying."

The same eyebrow was raised again. "You don't know how to drive but you can pilot a plane?"

Robin gave her a tiny smirk. "Who said anything about planes?

Weiss was about to ask what he meant when she suddenly felt weightless. She no longer felt the ground beneath her, and when she looked down at her feet, her eyes widened considerably as she found herself hovering just above the floor. A tiny platform of what looked to be _wind_ was swirling beneath her feet so subtly that she could barely even see it.

Then the wind dispersed and she was gently lowered back down to the ground.

"How - What was that?" she asked, only to receive a cheeky smile in return.

"Going back to how my cooking skills are only average at best…" he started.

"Don't ignore my question!"

"…I received the most curious critique about my cappuccino from a mutual acquaintance of ours," Robin continued as if Weiss never spoke at all.

In return, she gave him a withering glare.

"Are you seriously going to ignore me?" she hotly asked.

"Normally, I would not, but this mutual acquaintance is someone that I believe will pique your interest," Robin said.

Raising an eyebrow, she asked, "Really?"

"Quite. And this individual tried a cappuccino of mine just earlier today, and said that the quality of it could match a certain butler's. A butler named 'Klein', to be exact," Robin continued, carefully watching Weiss' facial expression. He felt a hint of sadistic satisfaction upon seeing her eyes slowly widen in recognition. "So I now find myself confused, Miss Weiss. By having said that my craft _"wasn't bad"_ , and that _"you've had worse"_ , are you also saying that your butler's cappuccinos are the same?"

"N-No! That's not - I-I mean - wait!" Weiss huffed. "How do you know Klein, and who told you _that_?! The only person that I told was…" Then it hit her. "…my…sister. You know Winter? No, before that! Winter's here in Vale? She told me that she wasn't due to arrive for another week!"

"Oh, would you look at that? It would seem that the song has ended," Robin suddenly said. Releasing her hands, he took a step back and slightly bent his body at the waist. "Thank you for the dance, Miss Weiss. As much as I would like to continue, something rather important has come up, so I'm afraid I'll have to take my leave a little earlier than expected."

"What do you mean - no, wait! Don't ignore me! Answer my question! Er… _questions_!" Weiss all but ordered. She couldn't think of many reasons that would cause the impromptu staff member to suddenly leave, nor did she see him receive and form of notification.

"Oh, before I forget…" He gave her a lopsided smile. "Would you mind telling Professor Goodwitch or Headmaster Ozpin these words? ' _From ashes to flame'_? They'll know what it means. And my deepest apologies for leaving you alone on the floor. I realize that it is quite rude of me to do so, but I'm afraid that this matter is quite urgent."

Before Weiss could say anything else, Robin snapped his fingers and vanished without a trace. With another huff, Weiss turned around and began to walk away from the center of the dance floor.

It was also at this moment that Yang decided to appear out of nowhere and throw an arm around her shoulders.

"This makes twice that you got played, Weiss Cream," Yang gleefully said. "Should I start keeping count from here on?"

"I. Did _not_. Get. PLAYED!"

 _ **. . .**_

Cinder fought down the irritation and frustration that boiled within her when she saw _that man_. The man that single-handedly ruined her chance at becoming a full Maiden.

What was he even doing here? He was neither a student nor a teacher. She made sure to extensively research the man as much she could through her connections, and there wasn't much. All she was able to gather was that his name was Robin, family name unknown, owned a cafe, and that he was immensely powerful, and that was something she learned on _that_ _day_.

The only relationship that he had with this "prestigious" school was the fact that the students would frequent his cafe - a cafe that she actively avoided - and that he substituted as a teacher for two days. As far as Cinder knew, this dance was only for students, both visiting and attending, and full teachers. Not half-teachers.

The worst part was that he made sure that he knew that she knew that he was there. It wasn't just the aggravating and taunting smirks that he'd toss her way when no one else was looking, but it was also the fact that he was always somehow in her line of sight. No matter where she walked in the ballroom, she'd see him just within her peripherals, and it _infuriated_ her.

Then an opportunity to escape his eyes finally appeared. Just as she finished dancing with a nameless and insignificant student from Haven, that damned man starting dancing with a student. The Schnee, to be exact.

"Emerald, Mercury," Cinder called out to her two companions as she walked towards them. Upon hearing her voice, Mercury stopped leaning against the wall and Emerald straightened her shoulders. "It's time."

"Are you sure?" Emerald asked. "I mean - I don't mean to question you, but…" She trailed off as her eyes moved over to the Schnee's dance partner.

"He's been watching us this entire time," Mercury bit out. "He'll notice it if you leave the party early."

"Which is exactly why I've been dancing for almost an hour. Anyone who has danced before will know how tiring it can be, so no one will question it if I am to leave now," Cinder explained. "If anyone asks, tell them that I went back to the dorm to rest for the night."

Emerald's eyes flicked back and forth between the man and Cinder. "Do… Do you want me to try my Semblance on him again?"

There was fear in her voice, and understandably so. The last time the girl tried using her Semblance on _him_ , she suddenly let out a scream of pain that no one ever heard from her before she fell unconscious for almost a week. When she woke, she couldn't remember anything after meeting the assault on the Maiden.

"No," Cinder said. She couldn't afford the girl entering another week-long coma. Not with the tournament being so close. "He'll figure out that something wrong immediately."

The two of them gave her a nod, and Cinder turned to leave. She weaved through the crowds of students, not even bothering to return the looks that the other students gave her. She finally made it past the main doors, and the moment that no one was looking, she turned and began ran towards her destination: Vale's Cross Continental Transmit tower.

By traversing the rooftops, she was able to reach the tower quickly and stopped when she saw the Atlas guard stationed by the entrance. A single hit to the back of his head took him out easily.

 _'They're either a fool or incredibly confident to only have a single guard at the entrance,'_ Cinder offhandedly thought, throwing the body into a nearby bush.

It didn't take her much effort or time to reach the elevator. The few guards that she encountered were pathetically easy to beat even without her Semblance or Maiden abilities. At this rate, she'd be able to plant the virus into the CCT network and leave without anyone being the wiser.

That thought left her the moment the elevator doors opened and entered the sea-green colored room.

Sitting on a wheeled chair at the main terminal was _that man_. He was reclining against the chair's backrest with his feet lazily propped up on the desk.

"Good evening. Fancy meeting you here," he said, waving his hand as a greeting. "How have you been?"

"You…" Cinder growled.

"Me."

"How did you get here?" she asked.

A funny look appeared on the man's face as if he was confused by her question.

"By…walking…" he said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How'd you get here before me?" Cinder skeptically asked.

"Uhh…I walked really, _really_ fast?" he tried.

"…"

The man began to spin in his chair and brought a hand to his chin in a classic thinking pose.

"Hmm… How about this?" He spread his arms out to his side. "I have this… _magical ability_ …to move from place to place at the blink of an eye - almost like teleporting but not really teleporting - with no one knowing how, uhh…in order to get to places faster than anyone else?"

"So you have secret passageways throughout Vale," Cinder bluntly said.

The man froze for a split-second before shrugging. "Yeah. Yeah, sure. Let's go with that."

 _'So there_ is _a secret passage,'_ she thought to herself. _'Unless the reports of his Semblance are different from what it_ actually _is.'_

She'd have Roman look into those later.

"If you don't mind my asking, what brings you to this…" He twirled his hand in a circle, gesturing at the room. "…tower that's so far away from the dance?" he asked her. "Quite out of the way, if you ask me."

"That's none of your business."

"I beg to disagree," the man said. "The CCT is quite vital to everyday operations, so I would like it if my own everyday life wouldn't become bothered. New faces come to my store every day due to the reviews they see online, and if the CCT were to stop working, then people wouldn't see the reviews and I would stop getting newcomers to my cafe. And that would be _quite_ the disappointment. I do love seeing people enter my cafe for the first time, and I will not take kindly to those that would disturb it."

That caused a sense of unease to run down Cinder's spine. She wasn't confident that she could fight the man in front of her _and_ plant the virus into the CCT system. The last and only time she fought him was on _that_ day, when she was supposed to attain the powers of a full Maiden, and she was sure that the man was only toying with her, Mercury, and Emerald.

But then again, she trained and honed her Maiden powers since then, even if it was only half of her true potential.

"Malicious intent is a matter of perspective," she said as she dipped into her Maiden ability.

The man shrugged again. "True enough. That's actually one of my favorite lines, actually. _"Everything is a matter of perspective."_ Though, now that I think about it, I haven't been saying it as much as I should. Then again, there really hasn't been a need to say - woah there!"

Cinder clicked her tongue in irritation as the fireball she shot at him was redirected to the ceiling with a flick of his wrist. She was hoping that a preemptive attack would give her a slight advantage, but she was evidently wrong.

The man whistled looked up at the fireball harmlessly dissipated before hitting anything. "Not bad. Your flames got a little hotter and have a bit more _oomph_ behind them. You've been training, haven't you?"

"Don't patronize me!" Cinder growled, throwing more fireballs at him. She kept her distance, not wanting to enter close-quarters combat with him. The man's speed was unlike anything she'd ever seen. Even Tyrian couldn't match his speed, and that faunus could move _fast_ when he wanted to.

But despite that, it didn't mean that the man in front of her was wrong. During their first encounter, she didn't know how to wield her power properly, so the best she could manage were wild flames that she haphazardly threw in a certain direction. Now, however, she was able to focus her flames to create intense and powerful attacks.

 _'Not that it does me any good,'_ she inwardly cursed as the man swatted the fireballs out of the air with his hand in the same manner as one swatted gnats, somehow extinguishing them immediately.

"I see. Despite how magical your fires seem, they act as any other fire," the man offhandedly said. "They feed off of oxygen. Take that away, they vanish."

Cinder growled as she focused for a few seconds. Heat traveled down her arms as it always did whenever she used her Maiden powers. Flames began to lick her fingers before it quickly enveloped her entire hand. The heat from the fire grew more intense and was slowly becoming unbearable.

 _'Not yet,'_ Cinder thought to herself, pulling out a vial of Dust with her free hand. _'It's not ready yet.'_

From what she gathered from their first encounter, the man in front of her was only able to redirect non-physical attacks. Physical attacks, like bullets and Mercury's kicks, were either dodged or blocked.

She used her Semblance to create a blade in the center of her growing fireball, hiding it, which took her a few more seconds of concentration to complete. Using her Semblance with her Maiden abilities was tricky at first, like trying to do two separate things with your hands at the same time, but with enough practice, she was able to get it down.

When the Dust-turned-blade was formed, completely hidden inside her flames, Cinder released her attack. It was easily one of her strongest attacks with the use of her Maiden abilities, and was something that she poured countless hours into in order to get it as strong as it was now. She used it against an Elder Beowolf last month, and it disintegrated its bone armor within _seconds_. If these flames were able to burn through the grimm's thick armor so quickly, then a huntsman's Aura wouldn't stand a chance. Even if it somehow did, the hidden blade would finish off whatever was left of the Aura.

The fireball shrieked forward with the glass blade completely hidden in the center. If he used his hand to redirect or block the fireball as he tended to do, then blade would definitely cut through his hand and embed itself in his chest.

But then the man dodged the fireball by kicking the console and sliding his chair instead of blocking or redirecting it as he did all the other times before. The fireball crashed against the console behind him, melting a large chunk of it, and her blade stuck itself into the main monitor. The holo-screen flickered a few times before shutting off.

"Temper temper," the man chided, pulling the blade free and twirling it in his fingers. "And how devious of you. I didn't even notice this. And while your attack was definitely powerful and potent, I'm afraid there are some glaring faults with it, the biggest one being time. It took you almost thirteen seconds to complete it, and within that time, any competent fighter would have run forward to close the distance."

"Don't lecture me," Cinder seethed.

She already knew that the time it took to create flames of that intensity was a flaw, but that was why she had Emerald and Mercury distract the enemy during preparation time. Granted, they weren't here at the moment, but the man in front of her seemed so content with staying in his chair that she was completely sure that he wouldn't move to attack her - a sentiment in which she wasn't wrong.

"The second fault is the speed," the man continued, clearly unheeding her words. "Your flames are strong. I won't deny that. However, its travel speed is something that could be improved. I'm sitting in a chair and I still dodged it. Powerful attacks mean nothing if they don't connect, and at the same time, fast attacks also mean nothing if they're too weak to do any lasting damage. There needs to be a balance between the two. Like so."

The man raised a finger and shot a fireball into the air above him, one that was twice as large and traveled far faster than hers, causing Cinder's eyes to widen. She knew that the man was an incredibly skilled fighter and that his Semblance had something to do with spacial dimensions, but she never heard anything about him having abilities similar to a Maiden.

 _'Unless it's a second Semblance,'_ Cinder uneasily reasoned, watching the fireball as it came to a halt just before hitting the ceiling. _'Just because there hasn't been one in centuries doesn't mean that it's impossible. If the mystical stories about Maidens and magic are true, then Dual-Semblance wielders must exist as well.'_

"Fault number three is your control," the man said, bringing Cinder out of her speculations as his fireball dropped into his hand and circled his head. "Without control, you'll do damage to your surroundings. You may think that it isn't important, but I believe you wanted to use this terminal behind me?" The man twirled in his seat while pointing at the hole she made in the main console and the scorch marks to emphasize his point. "Almost everything requires control, whether it be your abilities to your mind and even to nature."

Then, as if to show off, he twirled his finger and the fireball began to lengthen and stretch above him. Before her very eyes, it transformed into a serpent, coiling around his shoulders and raising its head to look at her.

"Are you done?" Cinder drawled with a roll of her eyes.

The man smiled in a strange manner like he knew something she didn't.

"Quite," he replied. With a snap of his fingers, the flame serpent vanished. "I urge you to work on the control of your abilities. You've done quite well for only having them for a short time, and I am sure you can do even better. On a completely different note…" He turned to look at the destroyed terminal again. "…I'd appreciate it if you don't destroy the property here. I'm the one that's going to explain what happened. Have you ever tried explaining something to an incredibly stubborn person? It's not fun, I assure you - "

He was interrupted by a beeping noise. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a scroll just as Emerald spoke through her earpiece.

 _"One of our guests is leaving,"_ Emerald informed her.

"Sup, Mister Sternface," the man said into his scroll.

 _'Sternface?'_ Cinder thought to herself, raising a brow.

"Who is it?" Cinder asked through her earpiece, keeping a close eye on the man in front of her.

 _"The general,"_ Mercury answered. _"Should we stall him?"_

Cinder considered her options. She could order Mercury and Emerald to stall the Ironwood so that she would have more time to plant the virus, but at the same time, it would be _very_ difficult for her to do so with this insufferable man blocking her path. The main terminal might be rendered useless, but the other ones in the room would work just as well. Today gave her the best and possibly the only chance for her to complete her task.

 _'Wait. The secret passages,'_ Cinder remembered. _'I'm going to be short on time, but I can have Torchwick find out how this man got here before me, then come back on a different day before the tournament and plant the virus. If those don't exist, then there's his lackey and her Semblance that could get me in.'_

"No. Let him leave. Today's infiltration is a failure," Cinder replied.

 _"What?! Why?!"_ Mercury asked.

 _"Mercury. Shut. Up,"_ Emerald hissed. _"You'll draw people's attention!"_

"The anomaly. He's here."

There was a strangled sound through her earpiece.

 _"Him? But he was just here a moment ago!"_

 _"Well, he's not anymore,"_ Emerald snarked.

Cinder fought down the urge to violently attack the man in front of her. He had gotten off his scroll a while ago and was once again spinning in his chair like a child. The infuriating smirk on his face only made things worse. It was as if he was taunting her. _Mocking_ her.

Then he waved at her.

She clenched her fist to hold herself back from attacking him. She wanted to destroy the other monitors and consoles in the room, but that would only cause her problems. If it was simply a matter of more security, she'd be able to handle it, but if Ironwood or Ozpin decided to place Hunters or Specialists in the room, it would make things _very_ difficult for her.

…Not that the security wouldn't be increased just from her entering this place.

"Oh?" the man suddenly hummed as his eyes lit up in amusement. "I do believe we're about to have visitors. Whatever it is that you are trying to do, you best hurry," he told her.

Cinder looked over her shoulder. Just as he said, the elevator's lights were on and it was clear that it was heading down to their floor. She didn't think that Ironwood would be so quick to get here from the dance.

"Tick tock, miss," the man goaded. "What will you do now? I'm no expert on tactics, but I would think that leaving now would be quite prudent."

 _'As if you'd let me leave,'_ she thought.

"If you do plan on leaving, I will not stop you. Not exactly my job," the man continued, much to Cinder's surprise. "After all, I'm just the owner of a small cafe," he added with a light twirl of his wrist.

If she could visibly express her doubt about him being _just_ a cafe owner, she would have. Unfortunately, her mask covered the top half of her face, which hid most of her expressions.

The elevator was almost at their floor. She'd have to make her choice now.

"Neo," she called out. "We're leaving."

From behind the main console, the girl seemed to materialize out of crystalline shards. She was in her default look: multi-colored hair, heterochromia eyes, and the white and black outfit that Cinder definitely didn't think was cute.

Neo skipped over to Cinder as she turned to leave. As she was doing so, the man spoke once more.

"Oh, and Miss Fall," he practically sang.

She feet came to a halt. She didn't turn around, but her feet still stopped.

"The next time you wish to go incognito, might I suggest styling your hair? Your hair may be longer than it was the last time I saw you, but the style is quite similar. As such, your profile remains very much the same, despite the change in your wardrobe," he said with a teasing grin. "I find that either dyeing it or putting on a wig does wonders." His eyes then flickered over to the girl next to her. "Neo has the right idea. She's quite the expert on changing profiles at a moment's notice, but then again, her talents and skills are one of a kind. Even so, I'm sure she'll have some pointers for you."

Neo brightly smiled at his words as Cinder clicked her tongue in disdain.

"…Don't tell me what to do," Cinder irritably said. She would never admit that his advice was sound.

"Do enjoy your time in Vale," he politely said. "And drop by my cafe sometime. I'm sure you'll find something there that you'll enjoy. I can guarantee it. Oh, and Neo? Give Roman my regards."

With a smile and a wave, Neo activated her Semblance just as the elevator _ding_ 'd behind Cinder. It was then that Cinder realized that the man knew her name despite her never telling him. Before she could say anything else, however, they -

 _ **. . .**_

When the elevator doors opened with a _ding_ , the first thing Ruby saw was a shower of crystalline shards dispersing in the air. It was the same effect that Roman Torchwick had when he managed to get away from her team the other day.

With her fingers tightening around Crescent Rose, she walked out of the elevator and into the green-lit room. Her footsteps echoed across the marble floor, and there was the smell of firewood that lingered in the air.

"How do you do, Miss Rose? What brings you here so far away from the dance?" a voice suddenly asked.

Ruby jumped and pulled Crescent Rose closer to her. She frantically looked around the room for the source of her voice before spotting a familiar figure sitting at the frontmost terminal in the room. The unnatural lighting of the room gave his white hair an odd, emerald-ish glow, and his smooth movements made him look ethereal.

"Mister Robin?" she hesitantly asked, wondering if he was a holographic projection. He definitely looked like one at the moment. "What are you doing here? Weren't you just at the dance?"

"I do believe that I asked the question first," Robin said with that smirk he seemed to be so fond of.

With a pout, Ruby lowered her scythe and slowly began walking towards him. At the same time, he pushed himself and the chair to slide back over to the middle of the console's curved setup.

"I saw someone being super ninja-y and sneaky and running across the rooftops," she explained. "And only bad guys act like that, and so I thought that she was up to no good, so I ran to the lockers to grab Crescent Rose and ran back and saw her a bunch of guards knocked out in front of the CCT building so I entered and saw more knocked out guards and in the elevator and - "

At this point, Robin held up a hand to stop her. "Slowly, Miss Rose. There's no rush."

"But there's an intruder in the building!" Ruby protested.

"But not in this room specifically, which is one of the most crucial rooms in Vale," Robin calmly countered. "So there is no need to panic. Unless you think me the type to simply laze about while a threat roams the area," he added.

"N-No, that's not - "

"I jest, Miss Rose," Robin laughed. He quickly glanced over her shoulder and at the elevator, but the action was so quick that Ruby never noticed. "I can assure you that whatever threat there was in this building is now gone."

Ruby frowned and looked around the room again. The elevator was at this floor before she called it back up, and she didn't see anyone in the elevator as she entered it. She thought that Mister Robin was the intruder, but the intruder had long, black hair and was distinctly female. Mister Robin was neither a woman nor did he have black hair.

"Are you sure?" she asked.

"Quite," he said. "I have a few security features installed, so there is no need to worry. Now then…" He pushed himself out of his seat and walked across the floor. "Shall we head back to the dance?"

"Oh, I don't - I mean…" She glanced away and twiddled her thumbs as her voice grew quieter with each word. "I uhh…don't want to…"

"Beg pardon, but I'm afraid I couldn't catch that," Robin said.

Her gaze moved down to her feet. "…I…kind of maybe don't want to go back? I mean, dances aren't really my thing, so…" she nervously laughed.

"Understandable," Robin said with a lighthearted shrug. "At the very least, we should leave this building. It _is_ a restricted area, after all, and I highly doubt that General Ironwood will take kindly to you being here. And the only elevator is arriving and is currently occupied by said general."

Ruby felt the blood drain from her face at the thought of being caught by the large and intimidating man. "But then how are we going to get out?"

"Well, that is quite the easy solution. If you would take my hand, Miss Rose," he said, extending his hand towards her.

There was no hesitation as Ruby immediately latched onto his hand. The moment she did, she felt a strange tug in her gut as the world around her _bent_. Her surroundings twisted and stretched like how space would in the sci-fi movies whenever the characters entered slipspace.

Then, as quickly as it happened, the world snapped back to normal and Ruby found herself outside of her dorm room.

"What the - ! How did we - " Ruby sputtered, looking around and pinching herself. "What happened?"

Robin's only reply was to smile and place a finger over his lips in the universal gesture to be quiet. It was then Ruby remembered how Robin basically teleported when her team and JNPR ended up sleeping over at his house.

"You want me to keep your teleports a secret?" she guessed.

Keeping the smile on his face, Robin nodded.

"Okay," Ruby agreed. "You can count on me! I won't tell a soul!"

"You have my thanks," Robin said. "Have a good night, Miss Rose."

With that, he turned around and began walking down the hall. Three steps down, he vanished into thin air.

"Woah. That's cool," Ruby muttered, opening the door to their room. "I wish I could do something like that. Or have two Semblances. Like flying! Super speed and flying! I'd be like a superhero!"

Then she closed the door behind her, and the hallway was quiet once more.

 _ **. . .**_

"So you failed."

 _"Yes, Mistress."_

"Might I ask… _why_ you failed? I was under the impression that this was _"a trivial task"_. Those were your words, were they not?"

 _"It should have - ! It was supposed to be quick and simple, and it would've been if it wasn't for_ him _."_

There was a brief pause.

"Oh? He made another appearance?"

 _"Yes, Mistress."_

"And I take it that he was impeding your progress?"

 _"…Yes, Mistress."_

"I see. How unexpected. Then I suppose it can't be helped. After all, _he's_ on a completely different level. I don't expect you, or anyone else for that matter, to fight that man and win, no matter the methods you use."

 _"…"_

"Very well. I'll overlook your failure this time as it cannot be helped."

 _"Thank you for your generosity, My Lady."_

"You may go. I will send someone to you with a new plan as this one has failed. And with _him_ in the fold, attempting to do the same thing twice is foolish."

 _"_ _…I understand."_

"Do not fail me again, Cinder. I will not be as forgiving next time."

A second later, silence reigned once more. Harsh beams of scarlet light poured in through the large windows and onto the spacious marble floor. Onyx pillars rose to the ceiling that was burnished with silver. The obsidian dining table in front of her shone underneath her gaze, and a smile rose to her lips.

"Oh, Robin. Just like before, you make things so much more fun and enjoyable. Much more than Ozpin _ever_ did," Salem said to herself. "I do hope you'll choose to stay and make this world that much more interesting."

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **We've officially deviated from canon. Oh man, this has been a long time coming.**

 **Also, I've come to realize that Cinder is a difficult character to write for me. I don't have much experience writing the _intelligent yet quick-to-anger_ type of character. Which sucks cause she's definitely one of my favorite characters in RWBY. I hope I did her justice.**

 **And I bet a bunch of you forgot about the safety wards that Robin reinstalled at Beacon back in Chapter 3, right? And Weiss's customizations for her cappuccino that's very similar to Winter's. And Robin's mental wards mentioned back in Chapter 8 when he was trying to incinerate his paperwork. Yeah, that's right. I purposely put them there all for this one chapter. I'm learning how to utilize Chekhov's Gun properly! (smug smug)**

 **Now that A Shepherd's Rest has deviated from canon, where will it go, you might ask?  
...I've no idea. I'll think of something. Didn't think ASR would get this far, to be completely honest.**

 **Til next time. Thank you all for the reviews, favorites, follows, and reads!**

 _ **. . .**_

* * *

 _ **. . .**_

 **Everything below here is a spinoff from the previous chapter - the alternate ending/OVA that I mentioned. I'm only putting part of it here since I don't want to overinflate the word count (9,612 words from the original chapter alone, 12,215 with everything else). The rest will be in the next chapter.**

 _ **. . .**_

It was always the small things that often proved to be the most useful and helpful. Granted, it was the big things in life that made the world turn, but in the end, the big things relied on the little things to function.

Usually.

In this case, Robin was quite happy with the fact that there were some markets that were open late into the night. It wasn't the most difficult task to find one that was open past midnight, but they were so far and few in between that it was a lot more tedious than it should be.

 _'Then again, given how the VPD like to hold up some stores for being open late, it isn't that surprising that most stores would rather close early to avoid them.'_

Robin remembered the first night that he had A Shepherd's Rest open a little later than normal quite well. Hell, he wasn't even open late. He was just taking his time in cleaning up after closing when Vale's Police Department decided to come in and hold him up for an hour as they _"checked for any unsavory people"._ How ridiculous.

But that was neither here nor there. Right now, all that Robin cared about was getting home safe with his two grocery bags of milk cartons and cereal that was most likely going to be gone by the time the sun rose in less than six hours.

Who said that cereal could only be eaten at breakfast? People who limit themselves in such a manner are fools.

Cereal tasted best when consumed as a late-night/midnight snack.

 _ **. . .**_

Roman Torchwick, in his own opinion, was a man of many things. Others may have differing views on him, but those were their opinions and not his, so therefore they are wrong.

First and foremost, he was a gentleman. That was not arguable.

Second, he was stylish in both his fashion and in his jobs. Why spend extra time trying figuring out how to avoid setting off alarms when he wouldn't be caught in the first place? After all, a good thief never gets caught, a great thief is never seen, and a master thief can alert just stroll right in and get what he wants.

Tactfully, of course. There was no need to resort to barbaric and drastic measures unless absolutely necessary.

And lastly, he was a man who had morals. Granted, he didn't have that many, and the few that he had weren't exactly what people would consider "good". But nonetheless, he had them and held onto them.

Since he had morals, he had some rules that came along with them. One of those rules was something that was an unspoken rule amongst thieves, and that was to never cross someone that he was indebted to. Especially one that he owed a _life_ debt to.

So it just so happened that in the midst of fighting off Little Red and her colorful group of friends, colorful in both the literal and figurative term, he managed to send a bullet or two at the very man he held a life debt to. Or possibly a dozen high-velocity rounds. And also a missile.

In his defense, the Atlas Tech wasn't as amazing as showcased. 'Top of the line', his ass. The auto-targeting system was worse than a rookie's aim with a damn rifle.

Fortunately, the bullets managed to miss the man's body itself, only whizzing dangerously close to him. Close enough to nick a few strands of his hair, at least. _Unfortunately_ for him, the missile was a lock-on type, so it headed straight for the man's chest.

Then came the explosion and the smoke that accompanied it.

"Shit!"

The curse escaped Roman's mouth before he could stop it. It was quite understandable really. A stray round could very easily kill a seasoned huntsman if they were caught unawares. Aura didn't matter if the user didn't have it up at the time, and Roman doubted that anyone would have expected a hail of bullets and a gods-damned _missile_ in Vale's commercial district.

Evident by the shocked and horrified looks on the four colorful girls that were spread out in a loose square around him, they didn't expect _him_ to be here either. That or they were all still innocent to not have gotten their feet wet in the real world.

No one moved after the missile's detonation. The fight that Roman was in with the girls was postponed as all eyes were on the cloud of dust and smoke that was slowly beginning to dissipate. When it finally cleared, he almost let out a sigh of relief.

Almost.

Roman thanked his lucky stars that the man was unharmed. There wasn't a speck of dirt on his clothes, but the murderous look in _his_ eyes was the reason why that 'almost' was an 'almost'. The reason being for his murderous gaze made itself known when he looked down at his feet, where a puddle of milk had gathered around his shoes, and a couple boxes of cereal lay in ruins.

"R-Robin? Wh-What are you - " Short White began.

The Schnee's voice got caught in her throat when _his_ gaze landed on her. His gaze then slowly moved onto each of the other girls before he took in a deep breath. He held it for a full five seconds before slowly exhaling it through his mouth.

"Why…is it…" he began as he took a few steps forward, leaving behind a set of milk-colored footprints. "…that whenever something happens…" His eyes locked onto the colorful four as he continued his slow advance towards them. "…the four of you are involved? I mean, I get it. Everyone is the main character of their own story, but that saying seems to take a giant leap forward when it comes to you girls."

The four girls shared a glance with each other before shrugging back at him.

"Uhh…lucky coincidence?" Red sheepishly guessed.

"It was a rhetorical question, Miss Rose," Robin glowered.

Red looked away and scratched the back of her head. "Oh. I…knew that?"

With a deliberately slow nod of his head, Robin's eyes landed on Roman - rather, the giant mech that Roman was currently piloting.

"Torchwick…" Robin's eyes narrowed at mech, though Roman had absolutely no idea how Robin knew that it was him inside of it. "…What the hell are you doing inside that thing?"

"N-Nothing much. You uhh…" Roman gulped and waved a giant mech arm around the area. "What are you doing here?"

"I _live_ here," Robin deadpanned, pointing a finger down the block.

Six sets of eyes turned to follow his finger. Not three buildings down was the familiar storefront of A Shepherd's Rest. A few scorch marks were scattered around the walls and the weird teardrop-apostrophe in the word "Shepherd's" had a bullet hole that bullseye'd the center of it. Miraculously and strangely enough, the windows and door looked to be perfectly fine.

"I…see…" Roman slowly said, turning back to face Robin. "You've uhh…you've a nice place."

Robin crossed his arms as a dangerous glint appeared in his eyes. Evidently, he did not appreciate the lackluster compliment towards his slightly charred shop, and Roman quickly raised his arms in defense. He wasn't sure how the action looked to the others as they were seeing a giant robot suddenly raise its arms.

"Okay, before you get mad, I just want you to know that it wasn't necessarily _my_ fault that your place got a bit…wrecked and all - "

"What?! No!" Annoying Red jabbed her finger in his direction. Honestly, with that look that she was giving him, one would've thought that he desecrated her family grave or something. "It was totally your fault with the explosions and bullets and fire!"

"We're only here because of you," Pretentious White said, putting her hands on her hips. "You are in possession of Atlas technology, and I demand that you return it!"

It was getting increasingly difficult for Roman to _not_ roll his eyes. The audacity of these kids was something else.

"Okay, you snot-nosed brats, let's nip a few things in the bud, shall we?" he grumbled. "First and foremost, I'm a thief. A thief steals things. If a thief returned whatever it is that he stole, it wouldn't really be stealing, now would it? Second, _I_ didn't do anything. You four are the ones that broke into my secret little meeting and caused a ruckus."

"Says the one that knocked aside dozens of civilian cars back on the highway bridges," Gloomy Blackie snarked.

"You can blame Snobby White for that one," Roman replied, pointing a giant robot-finger at the Schnee.

As expected, the Schnee looked absolutely appalled at the accusation.

"What?!" she shrieked. "And how _exactly_ is this my fault?!"

"Alright, sure. Maybe not _you_ specifically, but your empire, or nation, or country, or whatever you want to call Atlas," Roman offhandedly said. "Your engineers are the ones that crafted this clunky thing that I'm in right now, so why not go and blame them for their shoddy craftsmanship?"

"Well - "

"Enough." Robin cut in at that moment, and Pompous White's mouth closed with a _click_. Whatever bit of satisfaction Roman obtained from seeing her being quelled so easily vanished when Robin's eyes landed on him once more. "Girls, inside."

"But he - " "I didn't do - " "Why - ?"

" _Now_."

No one continued their attempts to protest after hearing Robin's tone of finality. With slumped shoulders, they walked across the rubble-ridden street, only to be stopped the door to A Shepherd's Rest not opening.

"Um, Robin?" Angry Yellow called over her shoulder. "The door's locked."

Robin snapped his fingers. The sound was loud and clear, ringing and echoing through the streets like some sort of magic.

"And now it's not," he said.

Sassy Black tested the store's handle. True to Robin's word, the door opened with a _click_ , and the four girls stepped inside. When they walked through the doors and sat down at one of the window-tables, Robin's eyes landed on Roman again.

"I'll ask you once again, Torchwick." Robin crossed his arms over his chest. "What. Are you. Doing."

"You mean in this giant mech or here in general?" Roman asked with a smirk.

Evident by the narrowing of his eyes, Robin did not appreciate his smart-ass response. He slowly raised one arm and pressed his middle finger and thumb together in preparation for another snap, and a chill ran down Roman's spine.

"Get out of that thing before I blow you out of it," Robin ordered.

Had anyone else threatened Roman with a finger snap, he would have laughed at him. Had anyone else heard Robin threatened them by finger snap, they would have laughed at him.

But it was not 'anyone else' that threatened Roman in the former scenario and Roman was not 'anyone else' in the latter.

As such, he quickly powered down the mech he was in and scrambled out of the pilot's seat.

"Okay, okay, I'm out! I'm out!" Roman said as he jumped down to the street. "No lightning blasts on me, please!"

It turned out that Robin wasn't even paying much attention, evident by the scroll call he was in. Roman cautiously approached, not wanting to earn cafe owner's ire, and was able to overhear some bits of the call.

"…didn't _steal_ it, I got the person who stole it _out_ of it," Robin said over the line. A pause. "No, I'm not lugging this thing back to Atlas so - oh, you're not in Atlas? Then where…?" Another pause. "Oh, so you're on your way to Vale? That's perfect. You can pick this thing up when you arrive." He paused again. "What do you mean why do you have to do it? It's _your_ property and it's sitting in the middle of the street. Pretty sure the fine for leaving such a thing is pretty high."

Roman couldn't help but raise a brow as he listened to Robin. He didn't know who was on the other end of the line, but he could surmise that it was someone of a significant rank given the context clues. Not anyone could hold the ownership of Atlas's latest military tech.

"Thanks. I knew you'd come to see reason," Robin continued after the fourth pause. "It'll be sitting right on Hamlet Road and 13th. Just saying, you may want to hurry up in case some unsavory individual decides to pick it up. See you later, Sternface."

With a swipe across his screen, Robin ended his call and turned to face Roman. Whatever mischievous glint that was present before during his chat with 'Sternface' was no longer present, replaced by a gaze that suited the moniker given to the person on the other end of the line.

"You've got connections with Atlas," Roman noted in a non-questioning manner.

A chilling smile appeared on Robin's face.

"Now then…"

A hand clasped Roman's shoulder.

"…Let's head inside and _talk_ , shall we?"

"Can…can we not?" Roman asked despite already knowing the answer. "I just remembered that my pet rock needs watering and - "

That was as far as Roman got before the grip on his shoulder tightened and the air folded around him.

 _ **. . .**_

 **Roman's life debt to Robin will be further explored later. Peace.**


End file.
